in-cyprus 19 July 2024
A widespread IT outage has disrupted major institutions globally, including banks, media outlets, supermarkets and airlines.
The US state of Alaska reported emergency service disruptions, and the London Stock Exchange was also affected.
Australia experienced a significant impact, with grounded flights, supermarket checkout chaos, and broadcast networks struggling due to technical failures. While the cause remains unclear, many affected parties linked the outage to Microsoft PC operating systems.
A Microsoft 365 service update on X acknowledged an investigation into the issue, but a spokesperson later stated that most services had been restored.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister linked the outage to a technical issue at Crowdstrike, a global cybersecurity firm, and the country’s cybersecurity watchdog confirmed no evidence of a cyberattack.
Sydney Airport experienced disruptions to departure boards, and airlines like Jetstar and Virgin Australia reported grounding flights due to the “Microsoft issue.”
Major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have been grounded, while Berlin airport said it has halted all flights until 10 am local time, due to a technical fault.
The outage appears to be affecting Windows PCs globally, including Sky News in the UK which was not able to broadcast live TV on Friday morning.
Australian retailers like Woolworths faced payment system failures, and telecom firm Telstra also reported issues, although emergency calls remained unaffected.
UPDATE - Re Cyprus
A widespread IT outage that has disrupted major institutions and services globally has also hit Cyprus.
The Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA) on Friday morning announced that the outage has affected its call centres, stores and digital channels.
“The provision of our products and services is not affected. The issue is being handled in cooperation with the supplier company,” CYTA said in a post on X.
Government
The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy told in-cyprus that public services have not been affected.
Airports
According to Hermes Airports, the managing company of the Larnaca and Paphos airports, no issues have been recorded in Cyprus, so far.
Media
The Cyprus Mail also reported being affected by the outage “with problems related to internet connectivity and other server issues.”
Media worldwide have been struck by the bug with Sky News and the Associated Press reporting problems.
Cause
Reports indicate that a cybersecurity firm named Crowdstrike, known for its antivirus software, released an update that is malfunctioning severely. This issue is causing Windows devices to become unusable, leading to the notorious “blue screen of death” on PCs.
