Ryanair among companies affected by global tech outage
The issue seems to have stemmed from an update to a security software used by Microsoft
Ryanair and Sky News are among companies that have been affected by a global tech issue that has shut down computers around the world.
Airlines, banks, supermarkets and other major institutions have reported computer issues disrupting services this Friday morning, July 19, with some airlines warning of delays and some airports grounding flights.
The issue is primarily affecting Microsoft devices, who confirmed it was investigating an "issue" with its 365 apps and operating systems.
The IT giant said they had recovered some services but warned that the issue was ongoing and users should expect "service degradation" according to a status page on its website.
Ryanair have advised customers to arrive at airports at least three hours before their scheduled departure time, as they are " experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control."
Flights have been suspended at Berlin's Brandenburg airport until 10am this Friday morning (Irish time), while Edinburgh Airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs, have also reported issues.
According to Brian Honan, expert on cybersecurity and data protection, and owner of BH Consulting, the issue seems to be caused by "a compatibility issue" with a software called CrowdStrike, a popular security software.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Honan said that an update sent out by CrowdStrike "to update the software worldwide is causing many Windows PCs to crash".
RTÉ also reported that they themselves had issues with their systems but had managed to get on air this Friday morning.
Australian systems, including some of the countries biggest banks, Quantas Airlines and the Victoria Police, seem to have been worst hit, though the office of Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator have ruled out a cyber attack.