A global IT outage has caused major disruption across the UK this morning (July 19) as the UK’s TV and radio broadcasting channels have gone offline.
Businesses including banks, airlines, telecommunications companies and supermarkets have also experienced major disruption after a “blue screen of death” error was seen on Windows workstations around the world.
Sky News has been off the air this morning, with sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao posting on X/Twitter: “We’re obviously not on air – we’re trying.”
We’re obviously not on air – we’re trying 🤞@SkyNews Breakfast pic.twitter.com/ZKvVacRgUY
— Jacquie Beltrao (@SkyJacquie) July 19, 2024
The outlet resumed broadcasting momentarily, but minutes later went offline again and issued a display slate apologising “for the interruption to this broadcast”. The outrage has also grounded flights around the UK and caused major disruption to travel as transport systems have gone offline.
Reports suggest cybersecurity company Crowdstrike – which produces antivirus software – issued a software update that caused the outage, although these reports are as yet unconfirmed. NME has reached out to the company for comment.
Meanwhile, Microsoft 365 say they are investigating an issue impacting users’ ability to access apps and services.
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“Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions,” they wrote on X/Twitter this morning. “We still expect that users will continue to see gradual relief as we continue to mitigate the issue.”
We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. More info posted in the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/W5Y8dAkjMk
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 18, 2024
We remain focused on redirecting the impacted traffic to healthy systems. More info is posted in the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/Htn4qQDPCR
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024
Others affected include the UK’s largest train company – Govia Thameslink Railway – who have reported that all four of its lines – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern – are currently affected by “widespread IT issues.”
London’s biggest airport, Heathrow, said in a statement that while “flights are operational” they were “experiencing delays”.
They added they working on implementing contingency plans to minimise any impact on journeys. Passengers have been advised to check with their airline for the latest information.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow