A significant glitch in Microsoft's cloud services on Friday led to a global outage, impacting various sectors including airlines, banks, and media companies. Millions of users worldwide experienced the 'Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)', causing their systems to abruptly shut down or restart. This error is a critical failure in Windows operating systems, which Microsoft provides.

Blue Screen of Death Explained

Microsoft explains in a blog post that the Blue Screen error, also known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), forces the Windows system to shut down or restart unexpectedly to prevent further damage.

Companies Affected by the Outage

Airlines: Indian airlines such as IndiGo, Akasa, and SpiceJet faced significant delays as their check-in systems were disrupted. Passengers had to undergo manual check-in processes, leading to long wait times and inconvenience.

Banks: The outage impacted several banks worldwide. In India, banks including Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and the State Bank of India experienced disruptions, though it wasn't immediately clear if these were directly linked to the Microsoft issue. Commonwealth Bank and other major Australian banks also reported service interruptions, preventing some customers from transferring money.

Media: Media companies like ABC and Sky News faced shutdowns, hindering their ability to broadcast. Sky News and CBBC in the UK, as well as Paramount channels MTV, VH1, CMT, and Pop TV, experienced outages, though some have since resumed broadcasting without graphics.

Other Sectors: The outage affected various other services globally. According to Downdetector, users reported issues with services like Visa, ADT Security, and Amazon. The UK’s NHS England reported disruptions affecting GP practices, although emergency services remained unaffected.

Response and Mitigation

Microsoft acknowledged the issue on X (formerly Twitter), stating that "multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress." The company highlighted disruptions in services such as PowerBI, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 admin center, and Microsoft Purview.

Expert Insight: Dave Parry, a professor at Murdoch University, clarified that the issue stemmed from an update to Falcon Sensor, a cybersecurity tool by CrowdStrike. This update interacted poorly with Windows, causing widespread BSOD errors. Parry emphasized that this was not a cyber attack, but an interaction between software updates.

Sector-Specific Updates

Transportation: American Airlines and other major US carriers had temporarily halted flights but have since resumed operations. In the UK, the train services on the Hunter Line and Southern Highlands Line experienced delays but are now back up and running.

CrowdStrike's Response: CrowdStrike President George Kurtz stated that a defect in a content update for Windows hosts caused the issue. The company has identified and isolated the problem and has deployed a fix. Kurtz assured that Mac and Linux systems were not affected and reiterated that this was not a security incident or cyber attack.

While some services are gradually being restored, the full extent of the disruption, including the number of affected flights and passengers, remains unclear. The global IT problem continues to cause delays and inconveniences across various sectors, with efforts ongoing to fully resolve the issue.