A global cyber attack appears to be underway
Reports have emerged of widespread Windows outages taking down systems for emergency services, banks, airports and more.
Windows machines are reportedly failing to boot, and unconfirmed reports suggest the problem lies with software from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
The Down Detector website has seen a surge in reports of service disruptions for a number of companies, including Microsoft, Visa, and Ryanair, as shown below.
Downdetector shows widespread attack underway
Troy Hunt, founder of the HaveIBeenPwned website, It was also reported in X. He has seen circulating reports of Windows PCs being plagued by the infamous Blue Screen of Death, which prevents them from booting.
“Something very strange is happening right now. I’ve been getting calls in the last few minutes from several completely different outlets, all reporting Windows machines suddenly hitting a BSoD (blue screen of death),” he posted.
The issue has been reported in the US, India, Japan and many other countries around the world. Attempts to log into two UK banks failed this morning. There are also reports of flights being halted at several airports around the world.
Emergency services computers in the US also appear to be affected by the problem, with one commenter posting on the Hacker News website: “My entire emergency department has been taken offline because of this. It’s absolutely terrifying when an ambulance arrives and they’re trying to calm a heart attack. 911 is down in Oregon too.”
In the UK, rail services are affected by the outage: “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our network,” the team at Southern Railway, which handles many rail services in the south of England, posted on X.
“Driver diagrams cannot be accessed in certain locations, which may result in short notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks.”
It is not yet clear whether this is the result of a cyberattack or some other outage. Unconfirmed reports say that CrowdStrike support engineers have acknowledged that the issue lies with the company’s software, and that they are reverting the update that is believed to have caused the problem.
This is breaking news. More to come.
