Microsoft Windows data blackout downs major financial firms, airlines

The Big Tech giant Microsoft is facing a widespread outage of its Windows systems, which has subsequently disrupted various critical services across the globe, including emergency services, banks, airports and broadcasters. 

The failure, which began in the late hours of July 18 and continued into the following day, appears to be linked to the cybersecurity software of CrowdStrike, according to a Forbes report . It has left many institutions grappling with severe operational challenges.

In a post on X on July 18 at 11:41 pm UTC, Microsoft 365 Status posted that it was investigating an issue “impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.”

In the latest update from Microsoft at 7:55 am UTC, it said that multiple services are “continuing to see improvements in availability” as it continues to troubleshoot the problem. 

Banking Sector Hit Hard

The banking sector has been one of the hardest hit by this Windows failure. Online banking services have been particularly affected, with customers worldwide reporting issues with logging in and performing transactions.

Downdetector, a website that tracks service outages, has shown a substantial increase in reports of disrupted banking services.

In the United Kingdom, attempts to log into two major banks were unsuccessful this morning. Customers found themselves unable to access their accounts, causing widespread frustration and anxiety. 

Similar issues have been reported in banks across the United States, Australia, and India, highlighting the global nature of this disruption.

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Along with the financial sector disruptions, airports around the world have reported grounded flights, leading to significant travel disruptions. One X user from India posted a photo of a handwritten boarding pass he received and attributed it to the outage. 

In the U.S., emergency service computers have been reportedly affected, with reports of 911 systems being down in the state of Oregon. 

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Southern Railway posted on X that it is experiencing widespread IT issues across its entire network.

Memecoins surge

As companies and service providers around the world scramble to restore normalcy, the full extent of the damage and the exact cause of this widespread Windows failure remains under investigation.

Nonetheless the crypto community has wasted no time in jumping on the opportunity to make something of the situation.

Since the start of the incident, a flurry of new memecoins related to CrowdStrike, the alleged cause of the Microsoft outage, and the Microsoft “Blue Screen of Death” (BSoD) error screen have been issued on Ethereum and Solana networks.

According to the memecoin tracker site Meme is Game, the BSOD token currently has a market cap of $4,449, while the ethereum-based STRIKE token has a market cap hovering around $5,400 via DEXscreener.

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