Microsoft’s global outage affects airports, media and services

MADRID, Spain.- Microsoft experienced a significant outage in its services globally due to a failure in an update of the CrowdStrike cybersecurity platform. The failure appeared with “a blue screen or bug check error related to the Falcon sensor; a software designed to prevent cyberattacks on computer systems.

The incident has caused disruptions to banks, airlines and media outlets around the world, company sources and affected users said.

The issue originated in the early hours of July 19, when a change in CrowdStrike’s configuration caused Microsoft services, including Azure, to experience service management and connectivity failures. In particular, computing resources in the central US region were the most affected, resulting in automatic reboots and loss of connectivity to virtual disks.

Microsoft has confirmed that most of the affected services have been restored, although some still have residual impacts that are being addressed by specialized teams.

The impact of the incident was wide-ranging, affecting financial institutions, airlines and media outlets in several countries, including Spain, Australia and the United States.

The DownDetector website, which monitors user-reported internet outages, reported a surge in outages for Visa, ADT Security and Amazon services, as well as airlines such as American Airlines and Delta. Some of the biggest disruptions were seen at airports such as Madrid-Barajas, where hundreds of planes were grounded. The situation was similar for flights by US airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines. In Amsterdam, authorities at the main airport reported a “disruption that also affects flights to and from Schiphol.” In Berlin, the Brandenburg air terminal reported delays in check-in due to “a technical fault.”

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