Businesses and institutions around the world have been been knocked offline after a major IT outage, believed to have been caused by a faulty update to widely used cybersecurity software.
Major infrastructure including airlines, train companies, banks and media outlets have ground to a halt after their computer systems were knocked offline or leaving devices showing the so-called “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD).
In the UK, Sky News went off air, while some train companies warned passengers to expect disruption because of “widespread IT issues”, as did many major airlines and airports.
Train operator TransPennine Express (TPE) warned passengers it has been affected by the IT outage.
It said: “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.”
Nothern told passengers: “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network, which is linked with the issues affecting many industries and businesses this morning.
“Trains are still running however information systems may not be showing and we’re unable to provide disruption info in the same ways as usual. We’ll continue to add disruption to our X feed when known.”
North Yorkshire Council said on X: “Our car park ticket machines, both on-street and off-street, are currently not accepting card payments as a result of the global IT outage. You can still pay by coin or the telephone apps.
“This issue is likely to continue until the global IT outage is resolved.”
The card machines stopped working at Dean’s Garden Centre, Stockton-on-the-Forest, for several hours, but have now been fixed.
Ryanair said its flights are being disrupted by the outage.
The airline said in a statement: “We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a global third party IT outage which is out of our control.
“We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.”
Across England, GP surgeries have reported being unable to book appointments or access patient records as their EMIS Web system went down.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) also said “services in community pharmacies, including the accessing of prescriptions from GPs and medicine deliveries, are disrupted today”.
Around the world, banks, supermarkets and other major institutions reported computer issues disrupting services, while many businesses have been left unable to take digital payments.
Microsoft has confirmed it was aware of and fixing issues with its cloud platform, Azure, but many cybersecurity experts have reported the potential source of the issue as global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which provides cyber attack monitoring and protection to many major businesses.
Experts have said a flawed update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software could be the source of the problem.