Microsoft IT outage live: Travellers still stranded as experts warn problem is likely to happen again
It could take weeks for global tech infrastructure to fully recover, experts warn
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
CrowdStrike said a significant number of the over 8.5 million devices affected from Friday’s botched software update are back online.
The outage led to over 1,500 cancelled flights in the US and dozens more across the UK for the third day in a row, leaving passengers stranded across airports.
Hospitals, GPs, pharmacies, banks, supermarkets and millions of businesses have also been impacted.
CrowdStrike said the outage was caused by a defect in an update to its “Falcon” cybersecurity defence software for Windows hosts.
Over the weekend, Microsoft released a recovery tool to help repair Windows machines hit by the glitch that affected over 8.5 million devices.
However, experts warned that it could take weeks for global tech infrastructure to fully recover.
“Even if we could guarantee it could be fully fixed on Monday GPs would still need time to catch up from lost work over the weekend, and NHSE should make clear to patients that normal service cannot be resumed immediately,” David Wrigley, deputy chair of GPC England at the BMA, said.
8.5 million computers running Windows affected by faulty update from CrowdStrike
Tui cancels flights and holidays as passengers wait at departure gates
NHS warns of continued disruption to GP services next week from global IT outage
National Lottery app and website goes down across UK amid global IT outage
Air passenger compensation: What are your rights when a flight goes wrong?
IT outage ‘likely’ to occur again unless government and industry work together
A global IT outage is “likely” to occur again unless governments and industry work together to “design out” technological flaws, a leading cyber expert has said.
Professor Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said “the worst” of the global IT outage was over but countries would “have to learn to cope” with future flaws.
The founding chief executive of the NCSC told Sky News: “The worst of this is over because the nature of the crisis was such that it went very badly wrong, very quickly. It was spotted quite quickly and, essentially, it was turned off.”
Sam Hall reports:
IT outage ‘likely’ to occur again unless government and industry work together
Professor Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the NCSC, said countries would ‘have to learn to cope’ with future flaws.
Delta Airlines continues to cancel flights into Monday
Delta Air Lines struggled on Sunday to restore normal operations after last week’s crippling global cyber outage, canceling 1,250 flights beyond the 3,500 it had already scrapped.
The issue has stranded thousands of Delta travelers across the United States, with some having to rent cars to drive hundreds of miles while others could have to wait days for new flights or cancel trips altogether.
The Atlanta-based airline, which canceled a third of its schedule and delayed another 1,700 flights or 44%, according to FlightAware, is battling operational issues after the outage hit its crew tracking system.
Delta has offered no timetable for resumption of normal operations and has already canceled another 305 flights for Monday, the flight tracking website said. Its total of canceled flights since Friday now stands at more than 5,000.
A software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike triggered system problems for Microsoft customers, including many airlines, on Friday.
Although other U.S. airlines have largely recovered, Delta has struggled to return to normal. United Airlines canceled 9% - or 266 - of Sunday’s flights, the second most among carriers.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the issue affected its Microsoft Windows systems, snarling a critical application.
“In particular one of our crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown,” Bastian told customers in an email.
In a separate note, he told employees that Delta would continue to “tactically adjust” schedules to ensure safety.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with Bastian, according to an official, reminding him of the carrier’s responsibilities to customers and the department’s enforcement role.
“I will ensure that our department supports Delta passengers by enforcing all applicable passenger protections,” Buttigieg said in a statement to Reuters, adding that the department had received hundreds of complaints.
“No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours.”
CrowdStrike said a significant number of the 8.5 million affected Microsoft devices were back online.
Health sector warns of delays as recovery continues
The NHS and pharmacies have warned that they will still be slower than usual as they look to recover from the problems last week. But the health service has told people affected to still come in for their appointments as usual, unless they are told otherwise.
More than 100,000 passengers hit by weekend flight cancellations
Some 100,000 travellers were affected by the problems over the weekend, Simon Calder reports. Many of those are still stuck trying to reach their destinations, he says.
Delta Air Lines struggles with thousands of cancellations after tech outage
Delta Air Lines faced further operational issues on Sunday with over a thousand flights cancelled for the third straight day beyond the 3,500 the airlines had previously scrapped.
A Microsoft outage on Friday left thousands of Delta travellers stranded across the US this weekend as the global IT outage affected the airline company’s crew tracking system.
“In particular one of our crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown,” Delta chief Ed Bastian told customers.
Delta has not yet offered any timetable for resuming normal operations with over 300 flights cancelled for Monday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
As many as 8.5 million computers running Windows affected by faulty update
As the world continues to recover from massive business and travel disruptions caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, malicious actors are trying to exploit the situation for their own gain.
Government cybersecurity agencies across the globe and even CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz are warning businesses and individuals around the world about new phishing schemes that involve malicious actors posing as CrowdStrike employees or other tech specialists offering to assist those recovering from the outage.
“We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” Kurtz said in a statement. “I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives.”
David Koenig and Isabella O'Malley report:
8.5 million computers running Windows affected by faulty update from CrowdStrike
As the world continues to recover from massive business and travel disruptions caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, malicious actors are trying to exploit the situation for their own gain
US border crossings reportedly delayed due to global tech outage
System failure caused by the global IT outage reportedly led to a massive grid-lock at the US-Mexico border with even approved Border Protection vehicles stranded for about 90 minutes.
Officials turned to workarounds like colour-coded cards to streamline processes, San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The outage also led to employees working with US government agencies missing work at the US border.
“Due to the global Windows outage, some of our staff are experiencing major delays getting across the border to come to work. This may result in missed or delayed service,” the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System posted on X.
Recap: Watch timelapse showing how global Microsoft IT outage grounded flights across US
CrowdStrike says significant number' of impacted devices back online
CrowdStrike said a significant number of the over 8.5 million devices affected by last week’s botched software update are back online, Reuters reported.
Over the weekend, Microsoft deployed hundreds of its engineers to help its customers restore services after the global IT outage caused by its cyber security partner CrowdStrike.
Microsoft said over 8.5 million devices were affected by the outage, which led to airlines, banks, call centers, transportation and healthcare systems struggling worldwide.
CrowdStrike said the outage was caused by a defect in an update to its “Falcon” cybersecurity defence software for Windows hosts.
In pictures: Passengers waiting at airports after IT outages caused long queues across world
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments