Global IT outage LIVE: CrowdStrike outage could be ‘biggest cyber incident in history’ as GP surgeries and banks hit
19 July 2024, 08:15 | Updated: 19 July 2024, 18:43
Planes are grounded, broadcasters are down, and British rail networks are affected by a global IT outage in what experts say could be the "biggest cyber incident worldwide ever."
Sky News has been knocked off air online amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks.
On Friday morning, a statement on their online page, YouTube and TV channel says: "We apologise for the interruption to this broadcast. We hope to restore the transmission of Sky News shortly."
Britain's biggest train company has also warned passengers to expect disruption due to "widespread IT issues".
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - parent company of Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern - issued an alert on the brands' social media channels.
Follow the LBC live blog for the latest.
- A worldwide IT outage has hit various services;
- The outage was caused by cyber security company CrowdStrike when it sent out an update for Windows users;
- GP practices, broadcasters, banks, airlines, trains, and shops have all been affected;
- A government spokesperson said people should use 999 and A&E as normal during outages;
- Planes are grounded, broadcasters are down, and some GPs are struggling to access their systems due to a mass IT outage;
- Commuters are facing cancelled trains and delays as the IT outage affects train operators in the UK.
Mass IT outage grounds planes and hits trains, banks and businesses across the world
A mass IT outage has grounded planes and hit trains, banks and businesses across the world.
A number of cybersecurity experts are reporting that a faulty update from CrowdStrike could be causing the outage.
- Many airports are experiencing disruptions to check-in software, causing long queues and delayed flights. The American Federal Aviation Association has grounded planes from major American airlines like Delta and United.
- The outage has also affected GP practices with many reporting that they are unable to book appointments and process prescriptions.
- Earlier, Sky News' broadcast went down because of the outage. They are back on but without computers or graphics.
Read more here: Mass IT outage grounds planes and hits trains, banks and businesses across the world
Experts warn it could take “days” for the world to recover
We are ending our live coverage of the worldwide IT outage for today.
Experts have warned it could take “days” for the world to recover from today’s global IT outage.
The world came to a halt this morning as technology across the globe crashed, cancelling trains, grounding flights and causing chaos in hospitals, schools and shops.
Governments 'don't want to talk about' crises, says cyber security expert
Elisabeth Braw, cyber security threat expect at the Atlantic Council, told LBC News: “It’s just too unpleasant to think about - so governments prefer not to mention it, hoping there won’t be cyber incidents.
“Because we are unprepared, we are completely left to our own devices.”
IT outage ‘not a hack,’ says CrowdStrike boss
The President of CrowdStrike has said that today’s worldwide IT outage was not a ‘security or cyber incident’.
“Our customers remain fully protected,” he said.
“We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption. We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on."
IT outage could take 'days' to fix
Experts have warned it could take “days” for the world to recover from today’s global IT outage.
Impacted systems will need to be started in ‘Safe Mode’, to remove the faulty update - and this could take big organisations several days to complete at scale
Increased demand on 999 and NHS 111 services
London Ambulance Service said it had seen: "Huge increases in the number of calls to both our 999 and 111 services.
"By 2pm today, we had received more than 3,000 999 calls and 3,000 calls to our 111 services – this is a third higher than we would usually receive in a full 24 hour period."
South Central Ambulance Service said it was experiencing increased demand on its 999 and NHS 111 services due to the global IT issues.
In a post on X, it said: "As usual, our 999 team will be prioritising patients in a serious or life-threatening condition.
"Patients not requiring such an immediate response may have to wait longer than usual to be seen by our ambulance team.
"If you have an urgent, not emergency, medical need rather than call 999 please make use of other local services, such as urgent treatment centres which remain open across our region until late this evening.
"You can also use 111 online, or call 111, to get advice and help."
Passengers sent home from airports
43 UK departures have been cancelled.
Ryanair told passengers: "If your flight has been cancelled, we kindly request that you leave the airport as the IT outage means we cannot currently assist passengers at the airport."
Edinburgh Airport said: "Anyone whose flight is cancelled is asked to please leave the airport and contact their airline directly."
UK air traffic control provider Nats said its systems are "operating normally".
Friday is the busiest day of the year so far for UK air travel with 3,214 departing flights as thousands of families embark on summer holidays at the end of the academic year for many schools.
Several US carriers grounded flights, including United, American Airlines and Delta.
Train service information website National Rail Enquiries warned passengers of "widespread IT issues across the entire network", although most train services ran as scheduled.
South Western Railway said all its ticket vending machines had stopped working due to IT issues.
Is your flight delayed? Airports and airlines issue updates
Airports across the world are continuing to experience disruption after a mass IT outage crashed computer systems earlier this morning.
It is already the busiest day for airports since 2019, with delays and cancellations expected to last several days.
Earlier this morning, passengers reported seeing 'Blue Screens of Death' everywhere at London Heathrow Airport, where delays and cancellations are still taking place.
Read here to see the latest statements from each airport and airline.
Travellers are still facing long waits at East Midlands Airport
Passengers waiting for the flight to Bergerac are now queuing next to the gate but have been told to wait as no seats have been allocated yet because there’s no computer system available.
LBC's George Icke is at the airport now.
We'll have more for you as we get it.
Is your flight delayed? Airports and airlines issue updates after mass IT outage causes travel chaos around the world
Airports across the world are continuing to experience disruption after a mass IT outage crashed computer systems earlier this morning.
It is already the busiest day for airports since 2019, with delays and cancellations expected to last several days.
Kieran Kelly has written you a run-down of the latest statements from each airport and airline.
Read it here: Is your flight delayed? Airports and airlines issue updates after mass IT outage causes travel chaos around the world
Ryanair electronic check-in systems are working again
It's been reported that Ryanair's electronic check-in system at Edinburgh Airport is working again.
We'll have more for you as we get it.
