Microsoft blames 3rd party software problem for outage

Amid a massive global outage that hit operations of airlines, banks and businesses across the globe, Microsoft on Friday said that it is aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: "We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming."

"We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform," the spokesperson said.

The outage put operations of businesses and systems across the globe in a state of limbo.

Airport and airline operations faced significant disruptions due to the outage, with airlines issuing advisories to passengers. IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa saw disruptions in their online check-in and boarding processes across their networks, forcing them to switch to manual mode.

Several users reported disruptions on outage-tracking website Downdetector, and many took to X (now twitter) to vent their frustration on the 'Blue Screen of Death' error messages.

However, the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) said its systems are unaffected by the Microsoft global outage. Stock exchanges NSE and BSE too said they are not impacted due to the global outage of Microsoft systems.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that IT ministry is in touch with Microsoft regarding global outage, and added that NIC network is not affected.

In a post on X, IT minister Vaishnaw said that the reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue.

CERT is issuing a technical advisory, he wrote.

"MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage...  NIC network is not affected," the minister said.

Meanwhile, CERT-In has issued an advisory on the Microsoft outage caused by Crowdstrike update, and rated its severity as "critical".