A global software outage caused significant disruptions across various sectors, bringing computer systems in business, healthcare, technology, and government to a standstill. The incident unfolded over less than 12 hours, impacting critical services and highlighting the vulnerabilities in our interconnected digital infrastructure.
Initial Disruptions in Emergency and Healthcare Services
Late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday, several states, including Alaska and Arizona, reported 911 service outages. These outages affected the ability of emergency services to respond to calls promptly.
Hospitals also began experiencing technology issues overnight, which disrupted their operations and hampered their ability to provide care effectively. Nurses on shift reported significant delays in accessing patient records and medical systems.
Widespread Impact on Airlines and Public Transit
Between 2 and 3 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the grounding of all Delta and American Airlines flights, regardless of their destinations. This was quickly followed by similar actions for United and Allegiant Airlines. Spirit Airlines also reported that its flight reservation system was affected by the outage, causing additional travel disruptions.
Public transit systems in the Northeast began reporting issues between 5 and 6 a.m. In Washington, DC, public transportation services, including trains and buses, experienced significant delays. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City announced that customer information systems had gone temporarily offline, though train and bus services remained operational.
Cybersecurity and Government Response
At 5:30 a.m., the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike alerted customers to crashes of its software on Microsoft Windows operating systems. This incident impacted numerous Fortune 500 companies relying on CrowdStrike’s software to detect and block hacking threats. Between 6 and 7 a.m., the White House National Security Council began investigating the issue, with no initial indications of malicious activity.
Global banks also started reporting service disruptions, affecting institutions like Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, South Africa’s Capitec, and the Bank of Israel. The outage’s reach extended to other Australian lenders, including ANZ and Westpac, as well as New Zealand’s ASB Bank. This prompted the Portland Mayor to declare an emergency, as the city’s Bureau of Emergency Communication’s Computer Aided Dispatch system had to revert to manual call handling.
Resumption of Services and Continued Challenges
By 8 to 9 a.m., some flights began to resume, with Delta Air Lines restarting certain departures and issuing travel waivers to affected customers. Airports, such as Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, implemented additional customer service measures to cope with the ongoing challenges. Passengers were advised to confirm flight details before heading to the airport, as disruptions were expected to continue.
Ongoing Disruptions in Healthcare and Transportation
Throughout Friday, the impact of the outage continued to ripple through various sectors. The healthcare industry saw significant delays and cancellations of non-urgent surgeries and medical appointments. Major hospital systems, including Mass General Brigham, Penn Medicine, Northwell Health, and Emory Healthcare, reported disruptions. Cancer centers such as Dana-Farber and Memorial Sloan Kettering had to pause certain procedures. Transportation services faced similar challenges. As of Saturday, Microsoft estimated that the outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices, highlighting the broad economic and societal impacts. Although airlines largely resumed operations, flight delays and cancellations persisted. Data from FlightAware indicated that more than 3,375 flights were delayed, and over 1,200 were canceled by noon on Saturday, with Delta and United Airlines being the most affected.
The global outage underscored the critical importance of robust and resilient IT infrastructure. As sectors continue to recover, efforts are underway to prevent future disruptions and enhance system reliability.
