Microsoft IT outage latest – Windows glitch sparks chaos as airlines down flights

You can read our full report on the outages here.

Recent reports have seen issues everywhere, including the US, Australia, India, Spain and Poland.

Much of the US is still asleep – but even still, its biggest airlines have grounded flights.

The UK’s busiest train operators, Govia Thameslink, says: “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network. Our IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem.

“We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks.”

Driver diagrams involve the rosters for train drivers and rolling stock.

Govia Thameslink added: “Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.

“We will provide additional updates when we can. In the meantime, please regularly check your journey before you travel.”

A number of cybersecurity experts are reporting that a faulty update from CrowdStrike could be the cause of the outage.

Toby Murray, associate professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems at The University of Melbourne, said: “CrowdStrike Falcon has been linked to this widespread outage. CrowdStrike is a global cybersecurity and threat intelligence company.

“Falcon is what is known as an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platform, which monitors the computers that it is installed on to detect intrusions – hacks – and respond to them. That means that Falcon is a pretty privileged piece of software in that it is able to influence how the computers it is installed on behave.

“For example, if it detects that a computer is infected with malware that is causing the computer to communicate with an attacker, then Falcon could conceivably block that communication from occurring. If Falcon is suffering a malfunction then it could be causing a widespread outage for two reasons – one: Falcon is widely deployed on many computers, and two: because of Falcon’s privileged nature.

“Falcon is a bit like anti-virus software: it is regularly updated with information about the latest online threats – so it can better detect them. We have certainly seen anti-virus updates in the past causing problems e.g. here.

“It is possible that today’s outage may have been caused by a buggy update to Falcon.”

Screens are glitching, showing out-of-date information or going blank. Passengers are reporting long queues at check-in and security.

The airport tweeted: “An IT system outage means wait times are longer than usual at the airport.

“This outage is affecting many other businesses, including airports.

“Work is ongoing to resolve this and our teams are on hand to assist where we can. Passengers are thanked for their patience.”

On its website Ryanair has warned passengers of disruptions. At 7.16am it posted the message: “We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage, which is entirely out of our control.

“Booking and check-in are currently unavailable. If you are due to travel today (19 July) and have yet to check-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport.”

TransPennine Express says that it might not be possible to buy tickets

Train operator TransPennine Express has told passengers: “Please be aware that some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues. Please purchase tickets on board if you are unable to do so in stations.”

The airline stated: “We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled.

“This is due to some IT system issues that are effecting multiple airports across Europe.

“We understand that this will be disappointing news and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to make new plans, so here’s everything you need to know about what to do next.

“This disruption is not isolated to easyJet and is affecting all airlines which is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance outside of our control.”

In a tweet, the airline says it is experiencing issues because of a “global third party IT outage”. It advises people arrive “at least 3 hours before” their flight.

“We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time.

“If you’re due to travel today and have not already checked-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this Global 3rd party IT outage.”