Microsoft outage: Chaos could last for DAYS as 5,000 flights grounded in battle to fix world’s biggest IT meltdown – The US Sun

The chaos caused by the Microsoft outage could last for days – with 5,000 flights grounded in the world’s biggest IT meltdown.

A failed update from cyber firm CrowdStrike shut down Microsoft Windows computers across the world yesterday.

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The collapse caused dozens of flight and train cancellations across the UK and paralyzed parts of the NHS.

Experts have warned it could take weeks for systems to fully recover – with more flight delays and cancellations expected this weekend.

London Gatwick, Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and Belfast International Airport said they could be affected.

Airports said passengers should check with airlines for delays or cancellations before traveling over the weekend.

A whopping 167 flights scheduled to depart from UK airports were canceled yesterday – with a much larger number delayed.

A further 171 flights due to land in the UK were canceled due to a technical fault.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said 5,078 flights – or one in every 20 scheduled – were canceled globally yesterday.

Disruption to pharmacy services will likely continue through the weekend even when systems are back online.

Pharmacies across the UK are overwhelmed by a delay in the delivery of medicines.

National Cyber ​​Security Center expert Professor Ciaran Martin said the chaos could drag on for days.

He said: “The underlying issue has been fixed and fixes are being implemented.

“Some industries can recover quickly. But others, like aviation, will face long delays.

“That said, I would be surprised if we were still facing serious problems this time next week.”

Experts have warned users to “remain vigilant” against potential scams as systems recover.

CrowdStrike and the NCSC are warning people to be especially wary of phishing scams that exploit confusion.

The NCSC said: “Please note that an increase in phishing relating to this outage has already been observed.

“Opportunistic malicious actors seek to take advantage of the situation.”

The outage shaved around 10 billion US dollars (£7.8 billion) off CrowdStrike’s market value.

The biggest financial markets in the US and UK fell during the trading session as other companies were also affected.

Many devices showed the so-called “blue screen of death” while getting stuck in an endless cycle of reboot attempts.

The outage has caused disruption to “the majority of GP practices”, NHS England said.

Ambulance services have also reported increased pressure on 999 and NHS 111 services.

Many have been inundated with calls from patients who have been unable to contact other NHS providers due to IT issues.

Across England, doctors’ practices reported being unable to book appointments or access patient records.

In the UK, Sky News briefly went off air on Friday morning – with unflappable presenters later going back to basics with paper scripts.

Britain’s biggest rail company, Govia Thameslink Railway, has warned passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”.

Around the world, banks, supermarkets and other important institutions reported IT problems disrupting services.

Many companies were unable to accept digital payments or access important databases.

Microsoft deputy chief information security officer Ann Johnson described the outage as “a very important issue.”

Johnson said he could not predict how long it would take for all customers to come back online.