AN ABUNDANCE of blue screens, supermarket chaos and aviation anarchy are being seen across the globe after a major tech outage.
Microsoft systems were brought to a standstill with a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike believed to be the culprit, forcing a stop to services around the word.
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A viral photo posted to X by traveller Akshay Kothari shows a handwritten boarding pass.
Alongside the image, he wrote: “The Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today.”
Cyber security researcher Troy Hunt said: “I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history.”
He called the blue screen the “blue screen of death”.
According to founder of cyber research company Imperum Senad Aruc, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport was “frozen” amid a doomsday.
He wrote on X: “Looks like Crowdstrike Doom’s Day it is real, many airline companies having issues with their systems.”
X user Jasper Hamill said it was a reminder of the fragility of the tech-reliant world, suggesting a collapse could send humans back to the dark age.
He said: “I fear one day historians will talk about the Silicon Age Collapse – and we’ll leave no stone tablets/easily readable records to tell the tale.”
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Meanwhile, many Microsoft users have shared snaps of the computer screens stuck with a blue display with the message “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart”.
CrowdStrike regularly push out anti-virus updates but it appears its most recent has plunged much of the world back to a pre-tech past.
Supermarket checkouts were out of order in Australia with their systems hit by the same dreaded blue screen.
Shops were forced to temporarily close and put up signs saying they couldn’t serve customers amid the anarchy.
Big queues were seen at airports with airlines also struck.
Ryanair warned of possible disruptions, citing a “global 3rd party system outage”.
Another user said: “This is surreal like we are in the Twilight Zone.”
Sky News’ breakfast show couldn’t be aired on Friday morning as the meltdown reared its ugly head in Australia, New Zealand, India and Japan.
Holidaymakers in summer hotspot Majorca were forced to form huge queues at Palma airport on Friday morning, pictures show.
Govia Thameslink Railway warned of disruption amid “widespread IT issues”.
They are the company behind Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern trains.
What we know so far…
British Airways said it had “issues across our operational systems” amid peak summer travel.
Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said the government was taking action.
He posted on X: “Many people are being affected by today’s IT outages impacting services across the country and globally.
“Ministers are working with their sectors and respective industries on the issue.”
Many social media users joked about the collapse affected office work, with some saying they were disappointed that their computers didn’t shut down.
X was filled with memes, with one showing a woman angrily throwing brick alongside the caption: “When your work laptop is absolutely fine throughout a global Microsoft outage.”
But in a worrying development, British GP services have been impacted and two German hospitals were forced to cancel emergency services.
Bank services in Australia have been affected with Beyond Bank Australia saying it was “experiencing intermittent issues”.
The Paris Olympics IT system was also hit, with global sporting event to kick off next week.
NOT A CYBER ATTACK, SAYS CROWDSTRIKE CHIEF
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz wrote on X: “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 refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.
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“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.”
Global services affected by IT outage
UK trains
- Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – urged passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”
- Gatwick Express – warned travellers they are “currently experiencing widespread IT issues”
- South Western Railway – all ticket vending machines are currently non operational – buy tickets online
- National Rail – some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice train cancellations
- TransPennine Express – some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues – buy tickets online
Airports and airlines
- Manchester Airport – delays for those checking-in for Swissport flights
- London Gatwick – passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security but should still arrive for their normal check-in time
- Ryanair – advise passengers to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions
- Edinburgh Airport – wait times longer than usual
- Stansted Airport – some airline check-in services reverted to being done manually, but main operational systems are unaffected and flights are still operating as normal
- Luton Airport – running manual systems
- Heathrow Airport – affected but flights operational – check with airline on latest journey information
- American Airlines – all flights cancelled
- United and Delta – no flights taking off
- Mumbai Airport – check-in desks shut down for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights
- Australian airline Qantas – flights grounded
- Schipol Airport in Amsterdam – flights to and from the Netherlands affected
- Spanish airport association AENA – reported issues at 42 airports
Television Networks
- Sky News – Friday morning breakfast show unable to air but now back on screens with reporter reading from printed notes
Britain’s GPs
- The Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire – without access to their IT systems
- Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands – affected ability to book/consult with patients this morning
- Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside – stated there has been a “big effect” and delays on the phone expected
- Pocklington Group Practice in the East Riding of Yorkshire – appointments needing to be cancelled and rearranged
- Hulme Hall Medical Group, in Stockport – unable to offer any appointments
- Windrush Medical Practice in Witney, Oxfordshire – continuing as normal for urgent enquiries but ask for routine concerns to wait until Monday
- Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley – no access to the clinical system, EMIS Web
- The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) confirmed the IT outage is disrupting community pharmacies
- A surgery in Putney, southwest London – Displaying an error message online to patients who attempt to book
Global hospitals
- Two German hospitals have been forced to cancel emergency operations
- The hospitals, in the northern German cities of Luebeck and Kiel, cancelled all elective operations scheduled for today
Supermarkets and restaurants
- Morrisons are affected
- Some Waitrose and Co-op are now cash only
- Gails and Waterstones experiencing some issues
- Wetherspoons pubs – only accepting cash
- Woolworths supermarkets in Australia – self service machines not working
Events
- Manchester United ticket release postponed – morning’s ticket release will be postponed until midday and website will remain unavailable
Banks and supermarkets in Australia including Beyond Bank Australia have also been experiencing issues this morning.
Various Microsoft services in Japan and New Zealand are also battling tech issues.
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