Microsoft Fixes 365 Apps Outage; Residual Impact Continues

Microsoft has announced that it has addressed the core issue behind the global IT outage that disrupted its 365 apps and services. While the root cause has been resolved, some residual impacts from the cybersecurity issues continue to affect users, potentially prolonging the ‘blue screen of death’ problem.

The global outage, which impacted airlines, banks, and businesses worldwide, was traced back to a third-party software update affecting Windows devices. Microsoft assured that a solution is in progress.

Airline operations experienced major disruptions, with carriers like IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa switching to manual processes for check-ins and boarding. Outage-tracking platform Downdetector saw numerous reports, and many users expressed frustration over the error messages on social media.

Despite the widespread disruption, State Bank of India (SBI) and stock exchanges NSE and BSE reported no adverse effects. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the IT ministry is coordinating with Microsoft and confirmed that the NIC network remains unaffected. CERT-In has released a “critical” advisory concerning the outage triggered by a CrowdStrike update.