Courts, spies and MPs: How the Microsoft outage has been felt around the world
At least 74 countries were affected by the Microsoft outage which was detected after midday US Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on Thursday.
At least 74 countries were affected by the Microsoft outage which was detected after midday US Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Microsoft 365 Services, including Teams, Outlook and artificial intelligence software Copilot, all experienced connectivity problems, the company said.
As of early Friday afternoon (GMT), Microsoft was reporting improvements, with email queues.
Courts from Los Angeles to Texas also warned that communications might be delayed.
Electric truck maker Workhorse Group, which was expected to report third-quarter results on 12 November, rescheduled to 16 November, citing business disruptions caused by the outage.
Other hospitals, including Canada's largest children's hospital SickKids, also reported its staff having issues accessing phone calls and emails.
From city governments in the US to Australian spy agencies, the disruption was widespread.
The City of Austin in Texas account posted on X early on Friday: Due to an ongoing Microsoft Outlook outage, City of Austin employees cannot receive or send emails at this time.
The company, Unity Health Toronto, said its teams were having trouble sending or receiving email but that patient care was not affected, and disruptions were also reported by Canadian municipalities, including the City of Ottawa and the City of Vancouver.
OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said it was investigating an issue affecting its connections to Microsoft's services, which caused some tools not to work as expected.
Can't send emails because of a Microsoft outage, so we're switching to fax for the regular updates we usually send as PDFs.
Singapore's courts also said they were, urging people to contact them by telephone for urgent matters.
China operates one of the world's most sophisticated systems of internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall, which restricts access to many Western websites including Google, Facebook and Instagram along with many international news organisations including the BBC.
What happened
At least 74 countries were affected by the Microsoft outage which was detected after midday US Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Microsoft 365 Services, including Teams, Outlook and artificial intelligence software Copilot, all experienced connectivity problems, the company said.
As of early Friday afternoon (GMT), Microsoft was reporting improvements, with email queues.
What changed
Courts from Los Angeles to Texas also warned that communications might be delayed.
Electric truck maker Workhorse Group, which was expected to report third-quarter results on 12 November, rescheduled to 16 November, citing business disruptions caused by the outage.
Other hospitals, including Canada's largest children's hospital SickKids, also reported its staff having issues accessing phone calls and emails.
Who is affected
From city governments in the US to Australian spy agencies, the disruption was widespread.
The City of Austin in Texas account posted on X early on Friday: Due to an ongoing Microsoft Outlook outage, City of Austin employees cannot receive or send emails at this time.
Why it matters
The company, Unity Health Toronto, said its teams were having trouble sending or receiving email but that patient care was not affected, and disruptions were also reported by Canadian municipalities, including the City of Ottawa and the City of Vancouver.
Response
OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said it was investigating an issue affecting its connections to Microsoft's services, which caused some tools not to work as expected.
Can't send emails because of a Microsoft outage, so we're switching to fax for the regular updates we usually send as PDFs.
What security teams should do
Singapore's courts also said they were, urging people to contact them by telephone for urgent matters.
What to watch next
Watch for revised vendor guidance, fixed versions and mitigation updates.