Global Chaos as Microsoft Server Outage Cripples Critical Services Worldwide

It affected services globally, impacting various sectors including healthcare. It even disrupted the 911 emergency service in the US.

Microsoft's server outage has stalled essential services globally, wreaking havoc across airlines, hospitals, and banking operations. Triggered by a faulty cybersecurity update from CrowdStrike

The global outage came just hours after the IT behemoth stated it was addressing a problem with access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.

It affected services globally, impacting various sectors including healthcare. It even disrupted the 911 emergency service in the US.

The outage also caused Windows users worldwide to encounter the Blue Screen of Death, resulting in unexpected shutdowns and restarts, with some users losing unsaved data.

Impact on Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare systems relying on Microsoft 365 experienced significant disruptions, severely affecting their ability to access critical applications and patient data.

Reportedly, hospitals and clinics faced delays in routine operations, including patient admissions, record-keeping, and communication. Emergency services, including 911 lines, were compromised, potentially delaying urgent medical responses.

The NHS in the UK reported that the EMIS medical computer system was non-functional, disrupting GP services such as booking appointments, viewing patient notes, ordering prescriptions, and making referrals.

In some areas, doctors reported a '100% outage,' and GTD Healthcare in North West England confirmed the impact on their services. 

Additionally, two hospitals in Germany had to cancel elective surgery procedures on Friday due to the server outage.

Further, the outage is expected to have resulted in substantial financial losses due to operational inefficiencies and the necessity for contingency measures

Microsoft’s Response

According to The Mirror, Microsoft said that it was treating the outage with the "highest priority and urgency."

"We continue to address the lingering impact for the Microsoft 365 apps that are in a degraded state. Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions," Microsoft added.

India’s Fallout

In India, the CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports, affecting SpiceJet, Air India Express, and Akasa flights. As for hospitals, there have been no reports of disruptions so far.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory after systems at several global and Indian airlines, banks, and other institutions faced sharp disruptions due to the outage.

"It has been reported that Windows hosts related to Crowd strike agent Falcon Sensor, are facing outages and getting crashed due to recent update received in the product. The concerned Windows hosts are experiencing a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), related to Falcon Sensor. The issues occurred in the latest update of CrowdStrike and the changes have been reverted by the CrowdStrike Team," the ministry agency said in its advisory.

Electronics & Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said, "MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage. The reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue. CERT is issuing a technical advisory. NIC network is not affected."