Microsoft outage eases after over a day, recovery timeline uncertain

A global outage affecting Microsoft Outlook, Teams, and the Copilot AI assistant began to ease on Friday after nearly 24 hours of disruption. Microsoft attributed the incident to server issues, specifically hitting features tied to Exchange Online, and stated it was not aware of any malicious activity. While a broader rollout of software fixes was stabilizing the system, the outage remains one of the longest in the company's history.

The disruption impacted various sectors, including government agencies in the United States, Japan, and Australia. Axios reported that the outage affected courts and governments worldwide, noting that the state of Maine's judicial branch warned that urgent protection order requests sent via email might not have been received. According to Axios, Department of Justice lawyers also requested extensions due to the outage.

In the United Kingdom, Guardian Business reported that the NHS experienced "serious" and "widespread" disruption, affecting hundreds of hospitals, GP surgeries, and community health services.

Additional consequences included delays at trading firms, hindered earnings publications, and warnings from airlines regarding communication lags, according to Gulf Times Business. The outage also halted at least one European bond repurchase. While the economic impact could reach billions, a lawyer told RNZ Business that businesses may have opportunities to recover funds through insurance.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business Standard IN, RNZ Business, Gulf Times Business, Axios, Guardian Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.