Microsoft users worldwide, including many in India, on Friday reported significant service disruptions, with outage tracking website Downdetector highlighting issues across various platforms.
Microsoft users worldwide, including many in India, on Friday reported significant service disruptions, with outage tracking website Downdetector highlighting issues across various platforms. The global Microsoft cloud outage is attributed to a recent update from CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, which has impacted Windows-based desktops and laptops.
In the wake of a major global outage affecting airlines, banks, and businesses, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz announced on X that the company is addressing issues caused by a recent update for Windows users of its tools.
"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," Kurtz said.
"We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers," he added.
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz)Meanwhile, Microsoft said that it is aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.
"We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming. We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform," a spokesperson said.
The global outage has thrown business operations and systems into disarray. Airport and airline operations faced significant disruptions, prompting airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa to shift to manual check-in and boarding procedures.
Outage-tracking website Downdetector reported widespread disruptions, and many users took to X (formerly Twitter) to express frustration over 'Blue Screen of Death' errors.
Despite the widespread impact, State Bank of India (SBI) reported that its systems remain unaffected. Similarly, stock exchanges NSE and BSE confirmed they were not impacted by the outage.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the IT ministry is actively coordinating with Microsoft to address the issue and assured that the NIC network remains unaffected. In a post on X, Vaishnaw noted that the cause of the outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve it.
"MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage... NIC network is not affected," the minister said.