Microsoft on Massive Outage: Services Being Restored, Stabilization Measures Taken
12:07 19.07.2024 (Updated: 12:59 19.07.2024)
© AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A global technical glitch related to the operation of Microsoft equipment, which massively affected telecom operators, banks and airlines, began on Friday morning. The technical problem was linked to US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, according to the ABC broadcaster.
The US company Microsoft said on Friday that services are being restored after the technical failure, and stabilization measures continue to be taken.
"Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress," the company said on X.
The Microsoft Azure cloud platform, commenting on the large-scale failure, stated that it is aware of the problem and is considering alternatives that customers can use.
"We are aware of an issue that affects the management of Windows and [...] CrowdStrike virtual machines. [...] We are aware of this issue and are evaluating potential alternatives that Azure customers can use to stabilize it," Microsoft Azure said in a statement.
The glitch has affected multiple countries, including those in Africa. For example, Kenya's KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank) said it has suspended its customer support line.
“Dear Customer, our Contact Center numbers are currently unavailable. We are working to restore them. You can reach out to us via our official social media handles below,” KCB Bank said on X, without explaining whether the suspension is related to a large-scale failure in the Windows operating system.
At the same time, the country's other two largest banks — Stanbic Bank Kenya and NCBA Bank — reported no problems.
Kenya’s national airline also reported issues with booking system due to the global technical glitch.
Customer Update on Global System Outage pic.twitter.com/2T0zDPqGd8
— Kenya Airways (@KenyaAirways) July 19, 2024
Furthermore, two major banks in South Africa, Capitec and Absa, warned of possible restrictions on customer services due to the global technical failure.
"Due to an unexpected issue with an international service provider, we are currently experiencing nationwide service disruptions," Capitec, the country's largest bank, wrote on X, adding that the company's card payments and ATMs continue to operate as normal.
In turn, Absa Bank warned its customers that the quality of a number of services provided by the bank could be affected as a result of the failure. The company also reported an outage in its banking application.
Europe has been particularly affected by this problem. Germany's flag airline Lufthansa said on Friday there might be restrictions on access to profiles and bookings due to a technical glitch.
"Currently, the profile and booking retrieval functionality may be limited. We are working on a solution and apologize for any inconvenience caused," the airline said on its website.
Earlier, Berlin Airport suspended flights until 08:00 GMT due to a technical failure. The German Eurowings air carrier also said on Friday that a software glitch has led to problems with online check-in and boarding and may cause delays and cancellations of flights.
Scandinavian Airlines also reported an outage affecting its booking system.
The UK's largest railway operator, Govia Thameslink Railway, said on Friday that it is affected by a computer glitch and that train cancellations are possible.
"We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network. Our IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem. We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations," the operator said on X.
Furthermore, London's Gatwick Airport has warned passengers of possible delays due to a Microsoft system glitch.
"We are affected by the global Microsoft issues, so passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security. Passengers should still arrive for their normal check-in time. We apologize for any inconvenience and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," it said in a statement on X.
Another London airport, Heathrow, warned passengers of a technical failure that could cause flight delays, Sky News reported on Friday, citing airport officials.
Due to technical problems in Europe, the departure of six flights was also delayed at Prague airport, the ST24 broadcaster reported.
Moreover, the global outage has affected companies in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, which is the largest port in Europe, but it is still unknown to what extent, the port's spokeswoman, Sigrid Hesselink, told RIA Novosti.
The port is now studying what impact the outage had on companies in the port of Rotterdam, Hesselink said, recalling that 3,000 companies operate in the Rotterdam port.
At the same time, the port of Amsterdam told RIA Novosti that the global failure had not affected its operations.
Moving to other parts of the world, low-cost airline Jetstar Japan reported a glitch in its check-in system for domestic flights, resulting in flight cancellations and delays, the NHK broadcaster reported.
The UAE Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a global technical problem had disabled its electronic systems, including the certification system.
"Please be informed of a global technical issue that has affected some of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ electronic systems, including MoFA’s attestation service. We advise users to refrain from conducting any transactions until this issue is resolved," the ministry said on X.
Russia, however, seems to be unaffected by the Windows glitch. Particularly, it did not affect the operation of Russian nuclear power plants, as its operator, Rosenergoatom, is using import-independent software, the company told Sputnik.
"Rosenergoatom works on import-independent software, we have no problems," the company said.
Rosenergoatom (the electric power division of Rosatom) is the operator of nuclear power plants in Russia.
Furthermore, Russia's airports, aircraft, and airlines are operating normally amid reports of IT failures around the world, which also interfered with the work of international airports, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) said on Friday.
"As of 11:30 Moscow time (8:30 GMT), Russian air transport, its airlines and airports are operating normally; flights are being carried out as scheduled," the agency said. "Domestic civil aviation organizations began introducing Russian-specialized software into their work several years ago. The process of import substitution in the industry continues."
The information systems of JSC Russian Railways are operating normally amid a global outage, the company told Sputnik.
The failure of Microsoft will not affect the operation of the Russian energy system in any way, System Operator UES told Sputnik.
The situation with Microsoft’s failure shows the importance of import substitution of foreign software, primarily at critical information infrastructure facilities (CII), Russia's Ministry of Digital Development noted.
"The situation with Microsoft once again shows the importance of import substitution of foreign software, primarily at CII facilities," the statement said.
The ministry added that, at the moment, the ministry has not received any reports of system failures at Russian airports.
