A major Microsoft IT outage has wreaked havoc across the UK (and around the world) this morning (July 19). 

From major airlines and train services to GP surgeries and businesses, the IT outage has caused global disruption.

Several cybersecurity experts are reporting that a faulty update from CrowdStrike could be the cause of the major IT outage.

Here is what is known about the IT outage so far.

Who has been affected in the UK?

Sky News

Sky News was one of the first companies in the UK to be affected by the Microsoft IT outage. 

Sky was unable to broadcast its morning show at 6am, with viewers being left with a static message apologising for the 'disruption' to the service.

The issue has now been fixed.

Train services

Train service information website National Rail Enquiries warned passengers there are “widespread IT issues across the entire network”.

Among the operators affected are Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, Southern and Thameslink.

Major Airports

Airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh have also been affected by the IT outage.

A spokesperson for Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, said the outage was “impacting select systems”.

She went on: “Flights are operational and we are implementing contingency plans to minimise any impact on journeys.”

Long queues have also been reported at airports such as Gatwick, Luton and Edinburgh.

GP surgeries and pharmacies

GP surgeries and pharmacies in England are also experiencing issues.

Some GP practices have taken to social media this morning to report they cannot access the EMIS Web system.

EMIS Web is the most widely used clinical system for primary care in the UK and it enables GP practices to book appointments, and examine records and includes a clinical decision support tool as well as helps with admin.

Among those affected are Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire, Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands and Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside.

Dr Farah Jameel, a GP in central London working at Museum Practice, told the PA news agency this IT outage was “unsafe" for patients.

Around the world, banks, supermarkets and other major institutions have also reported computer issues disrupting services, while many businesses have been left unable to take digital payments.

Microsoft says a resolution to IT outage is "forthcoming"

Microsoft has confirmed it was aware of and was working on fixing issues with its cloud platform, Azure.

However, many cybersecurity experts have reported the potential source of the issue as global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which provides cyber attack monitoring and protection to many major businesses.

Experts have said a flawed update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software could be the source of the problem.

In a statement, Microsoft said a resolution for Windows devices was “forthcoming”.

It said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”

Global IT outage “not a security incident or cyberattack”

In a statement on social media, CrowdStrike said the global IT outage was “not a security incident or cyberattack”, adding: “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed”.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter) CrowdStrike president George Kurtz said the problem was caused by a “defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts”.

He said: “This is not a security incident or cyber attack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.

“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.

“We further recommend organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.

“Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

Mr Kurtz said the issue was not affecting Mac or Linux software.

Windows users are urged to follow these steps to fix computers after IT outage

The outage has wreaked havoc on computers this morning with many Windows users reporting crashes.

A post on X (formerly Twitter) said CrowdStrike was aware of reports of "crashes on Windows" with symptoms including hosts experiencing a "bugcheck\blue screen error".

CrowdStrike Engineering added it has "identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes".

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But people still experiencing problems were urged to use the following workaround to help fix their PC:

  • Boot Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment
  • Navigate to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike directory
  • Locate the file matching “C-00000291*.sys”, and delete it
  • Boot the host normally

In its most recent update at the time of writing Microsoft 365 Status on X posted: "Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress."