What you need to know
- Microsoft network and cloud computing services are experiencing outages, affecting airlines, emergency response centers, and more across the United States.
- Engineers at security software Cloudstrike acknowledged the potential problem in a statement and are working on a solution.
- Microsoft is also taking steps to repair its Azure servers and resolve the issue for Windows users worldwide.
July 19, 3:40 a.m. ET: This story is breaking; we will update this article as more information becomes available.
It’s not a good Friday for Microsoft as the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) error screen causes outages at several media companies, airlines, banks and even emergency call centers worldwide. Popular service issue tracker “Downdetector” reports server issues at all major Microsoft services, including Azure servers, subsequently impacting mobile networks like Verizon.
Commercial flights are grounded due to a “global ground stop,” with information screens at airports around the world no longer displaying flight information and British television channel Sky News currently offline. Microsoft claims in a comment to news agency AFP that it is taking “damage control measures” after investigations into its servers began following the first signs of problems at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Many Windows devices suffering from blue screen errors appear to be using the Crowdstrike security software, and the developers are aware of an issue related to the “Falcon Sensor.” More precise causes of the BSOD issues are currently unknown.
