• Retailers, banks, and media services disrupted by major Microsoft Azure outage today.
  • Customers unable to access accounts or make transactions due to banking service interruptions.
  • Media sector faces broadcast and content delivery issues impacting news and entertainment.

A major outage of Microsoft’s Azure cloud service has caused significant disruption across retail, banking, and media industries in New Zealand and World. Beginning early this morning, the outage left businesses struggling to restore services and many customers unable to access critical applications.

Impact on Retailers
Retailers experienced substantial issues with point-of-sale systems, inventory management, and e-commerce platforms. Major retail chains faced closures due to the inability to process transactions, resulting in delays and potential sales losses. Businesses have been managing operations without their usual digital infrastructure, causing significant operational challenges.

Banking Sector Hit Hard
The banking sector has been heavily affected, with online banking platforms and payment processing systems experiencing downtime. Customers have been unable to access their accounts, transfer funds, or make payments, causing widespread frustration. Additionally, some ATMs were reported out of service, exacerbating the situation for individuals needing cash. Banks like ASB and Kiwibank have acknowledged these issues and are working on restoring services, while Westpac services were workin.

Media Services Disrupted
The media sector has also suffered interruptions. Television networks and streaming services reliant on Azure’s infrastructure faced disruptions in their broadcast and content delivery services. Viewers reported difficulties accessing live broadcasts and on-demand content, affecting the delivery of news and entertainment.

Cause and Response
The recent outages experienced by both CrowdStrike and Microsoft Azure appear to be interrelated. Both incidents contributed to a significant global technology disruption affecting various industries, including healthcare, air travel, and emergency services.

The CrowdStrike outage was primarily caused by a faulty software update that resulted in widespread “blue screen of death” errors on Windows machines, leading to massive operational disruptions across sectors such as banks, airlines, and hospitals. CrowdStrike confirmed that the issue stemmed from an internal error, not a cyberattack.

Simultaneously, Microsoft Azure experienced a major outage due to a misconfigured network device. This misconfiguration disrupted network traffic and affected a range of services, including Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, and GitHub. The Azure outage compounded the issues already caused by the CrowdStrike update, further impacting various critical services globally.

While the exact technical details connecting the two outages are still under investigation, it is clear that the disruptions from both CrowdStrike and Azure exacerbated each other, leading to a broader impact on global IT infrastructure​

Microsoft’s Statement
Microsoft acknowledged the issue, stating that their engineers are working diligently to identify the root cause and restore services quickly. The company has apologised for the inconvenience and assured customers that steps are being taken to prevent future occurrences. Measures include updating configuration policies, enhancing incident response automation, and improving communication tools for faster notification and resolution in similar scenarios.

Broader Implications
The outage has sparked a broader conversation about the reliance on cloud services and the need for robust contingency plans. Businesses are urged to review their disaster recovery protocols and explore multi-cloud strategies to mitigate risks associated with such outages.

Affected businesses and customers are advised to monitor Microsoft’s Azure status page for updates and to contact customer support for assistance with specific issues.

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