Microsoft IT outage causes chaos at UK train stations

Passengers were seen forming lines on the platform at Waterloo Station due to technology failings.

The central London station is reportedly crammed full of people, who are reportedly unable to access ticket machines to make trips today.

Waterloo facilitates trips to multiple airports in London, which, according to The Mirror, are also experiencing huge delays this morning.

‼ IMPORTANT NOTICE ‼

There is a nationwide outage of our booking system EMIS. We're continuing as normal for urgent enquiries but ask for routine concerns to wait until Monday. Please continue to submit your queries through Engage Consult. Thank you.

— Windrush Medical Practice (@WindrushMedical) July 19, 2024

Train ticket machines have also ceased functioning as IT outages cause widespread trouble in the transport sector.

Pictures posted from stations show the machines with the dreaded "blue screen of death" Windows users have been experiencing this morning.

Train service information website National Rail Enquiries warned passengers there are “widespread IT issues across the entire network”.

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Microsoft is aware of the outage issue

Microsoft has confirmed it was aware of and fixing issues with its cloud platform, Azure, but many cybersecurity experts have reported the potential source of the issue as global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which provides cyber attack monitoring and protection to many major businesses.

Experts have said a flawed update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor software could be the source of the problem.

In a statement on social media, CrowdStrike said the global IT outage was “not a security incident or cyberattack”, adding: “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed”.

In a statement, Microsoft said a resolution for Windows devices was “forthcoming”.

It said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”