Microsoft blames server problems as worldwide outage persists

Detailed summary

Company says it is not aware of malicious activity, with Outlook, Teams and Copilot down for a second day

Microsoft’s Outlook, Teams and Copilot were still down on Friday as one of the company’s worst outages stretched beyond 12 hours, disrupting communications for businesses and governments worldwide.

Microsoft blamed server problems for the outage and said it was not aware of any malicious activity. It said in its latest update on Friday that it was seeing signs of stabilization after implementing fixes more broadly to attain a persistent recovery of services.

The disruption hit government agencies in Australia, Japan, and the United States, and caused disruptions at trading firms, delays to companies publishing their results and airlines warning customers of delayed communication.

In Europe, stock exchange operator Euronext said its listing teams were experiencing email communication issues, while Britain’s insurer Aviva said it was putting backup plans in place for its earnings calls. Danish shipping company Maersk warned customers of delays to emails and updates.

U.S. AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic said they had faced issues with Microsoft connectors, while Indian airlines IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India said their email support services were impacted.

Experts warn of depending on single provider in light of Microsoft outage

The outage also disrupted fund management at Taiwanese securities firms, life insurers, and investment trust companies. One of the companies went as far as cancelling a bond repurchase transaction, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Another Taiwanese financial company resorted to using fax to confirm trades, a second source said.

In the U.S., electric truck maker Workhorse Group rescheduled its results on Thursday to Nov. 16, while Switzerland’s Richemont briefly delayed its first half results announcement on Friday.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Globe and Mail (Report on Business). To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.