Businesses such as banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, TV and radio stations, and supermarkets worldwide were affected when Windows workstations displayed the blue screen of death.
Users in Australia began reporting issues early Friday afternoon, stating they were locked out of their workstations. Australian banking apps and supermarket systems were also impacted. Australian broadcasters, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News, confirmed they were facing broadcasting difficulties as a result.
The outage appears to affect Windows computers globally. Users on the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike’s subreddit reported issues in India, the United States, and New Zealand.
According to the specialized website Downdetector, the outage affects many banks and telecommunications companies.
“I have been informed of a large-scale technical fault affecting several businesses and services across Australia this afternoon,” noted Michelle McGuinness of the Australian Cybersecurity Agency via X.
“Current information indicates that this outage is related to a technical issue with the software platform used by the affected companies,” she added.
McGuinness emphasized that “there is no information suggesting this is a cybersecurity-related incident.”
Australia’s state broadcaster ABC announced it was experiencing a “major technical fault” without providing further details.
Melbourne Airport informed customers that it was “experiencing a global tech issue affecting check-in processes for some airlines” and advised passengers to “allow extra time for check-in.”
American Airlines, United, and Delta requested the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all flights.
The FAA instructed air traffic controllers to inform pilots in the air that airlines were currently experiencing communication problems. No flights from American, United, or Delta would take off.
Sky News in the UK reported that it did not go on air Friday morning, with Sky News sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao writing on X: “Apparently we are not on air – trying.”
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A major UK railway company warned passengers to expect disruptions due to “widespread IT issues.” All four brands of Govia Thameslink Railway – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern – posted on social media: “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our network.”
Berlin Airport announced the suspension of air traffic until 11:00 a.m. Greek time due to a technical problem with its IT system. Earlier, the airport’s managing company had informed passengers via X about check-in delays due to the technical issue.
Microsoft reported that it was taking “action” following the issues, as reported by AFP. The company stated that it is investigating issues with cloud services in the U.S. and a problem affecting several of its applications and services.
