Microsoft faced a global outage on Thursday, affecting several of its services, including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot. The incident, which began on Thursday, had spread rapidly to multiple regions worldwide by Friday, with 74 countries and territories reporting disruptions. According to Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages, tens of thousands of users were unable to access the affected services normally.
The outage was linked to an overload of part of Microsoft's computer infrastructure, the company said. Microsoft identified a "high load" on some of its servers, which may have caused the connectivity errors experienced by users. In a statement on Friday, Microsoft said it had no evidence of a cyberattack being the cause of the incident. "At this point, we have no indication of any malicious activity being the cause of this incident," the company said.
The outage had significant consequences for users worldwide, preventing email sending and receiving, and causing difficulties accessing Teams and Copilot. The incident affected users in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, with Microsoft confirming that the connectivity issues could affect Microsoft 365 users regardless of their geographical location. New Zealand reported that its ability to receive emails was affected, with its embassies, consulates, and diplomatic representations worldwide also impacted.
The Japanese Minister of Economy, Ryosei Akazawa, estimated that the outage could have a "significant impact" due to the large number of Microsoft software users. Microsoft has been working to resolve the issue, with several technical interventions attempted since the incident began. The company explored alternative solutions, including redirecting user traffic to less busy infrastructure.
By Thursday evening, Microsoft reported a "limited recovery" of services, but a precise timeline for a full return to normal was not provided. The company said it was committed to further analyzing the causes of the incident once the services were restored. Initial results from a corrective measure were encouraging, but the extent of the impact and the time required to fully resolve the issue remained unclear.
The outage affected not only individual users but also government agencies and administrations. The incident highlighted the reliance on Microsoft services for communication and collaboration, with Teams and Outlook being essential tools for many organizations. As Microsoft continues to work on resolving the issue, users are advised to monitor the company's updates for the latest information on the outage.
Microsoft's incident response and communication have been closely watched, with the company's transparency about the cause and impact of the outage being seen as a positive step. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of robust infrastructure and contingency planning for technology providers, as well as the need for users to be prepared for potential disruptions.
Key points
- No cyberattack was identified as the cause of the Microsoft global outage.
- The outage affected 74 countries and territories worldwide.
- Microsoft services, including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, were impacted.
