USA
Major U.S. airlines ordered the suspension of flights today, Friday, due to IT outages.
Other airlines, media outlets, banks, and telecommunications companies worldwide also reported disruptions due to internet outages.
Companies like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Allegiant Air halted their flights less than an hour after Microsoft announced that it had resolved the cloud services outage that affected several low-cost carriers.
It remains unclear whether the decision to suspend flights is directly related to the earlier cloud service disruption from Microsoft.
Australia
In Australia, media, banks, and communication companies experienced service disruptions.
These disruptions appear to be linked to a cybersecurity issue at global security firm CrowdStrike.
The website DownDetector, which tracks internet service availability, showed IT outages in several banks and communication companies.
When Reuters contacted CrowdStrike’s technical support today, Friday, they found that the company had left a recorded phone message acknowledging reports of issues with Microsoft’s Windows operating system related to its Falcon sensor, without specifically mentioning Australia.
Michelle Macguiness, the coordinator of Australia’s National Cyber Security Office, stated in a post on the X platform:
“There is no information suggesting that the service disruption is a cybersecurity matter.”
Widespread IT Outages
The impact of the outage was widespread and affected various locations.
Spain reported “technical computer issues” at all its airports.
While Ryanair—the largest European airline by passenger numbers—warned passengers of potential disruptions across its network without specifying the nature of the problems.
Cloud service provider AWS stated in a statement that it is “investigating reports related to connectivity issues with Windows EC2 Workspaces.”
As of now, the exact connection between all the service outages observed and CrowdStrike issues remains unclear.
No indications of cyber breaches or attacks in the UAE after the global IT outages.
The UAE’s Cybersecurity Council has confirmed no indications of current cyber breaches or attacks related to the global IT outages.
It recommended to exercise caution and vigilance.
Especially given the potential exploitation by malicious actors during such incidents.
However, the UAE’s Cybersecurity Council is collaborating with official and international partners to address this worldwide technical issue.
It calls everyone in the community to rely on official sources and avoid rumors is spot-on—staying informed from reliable channels is crucial.
