Global Microsoft Outage Disrupts Major Websites, Including Heathrow and NatWest

A global Microsoft outage has caused widespread disruptions to major websites and services, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest Bank, and Minecraft. According to outage tracker Downdetector, thousands of reports were made globally, indicating issues with several sites. Microsoft acknowledged the problem, stating that users of Microsoft 365 might experience delays with services such as Outlook. The company’s Azure cloud computing platform, which powers much of the internet, was identified as the source of the issue due to DNS problems. The outage affected UK services like Asda and O2, as well as U.S. sites including Starbucks and Kroger. While NatWest’s website was down, its mobile banking, web chat, and phone services remained operational. The Scottish Parliament also had to suspend business due to technical issues related to the outage. Microsoft explained that an inadvertent configuration change led to the disruption and that they were working to resolve it by restoring the system from a previous backup. With Microsoft Azure hosting around 20% of the global cloud market, this incident highlights the risks associated with the concentration of cloud services in a few large providers. The company has not yet provided a timeline for resolution.