Microsoft IT Outage – O’Brien Media Services Unaffected
In the wake of the global IT outage linked to Microsoft and CrowdStrike, businesses and services across the UK have experienced significant disruptions.
The issues, which began early on July 19th, 2024, and resulted in Sky News being unable to broadcast on TV and livetreams, have also impacted major airlines, banks, and public services including the NHS, causing widespread delays and operational challenges.
Key issues reported include flight cancellations and delays at several UK airports such as Gatwick, Manchester, and Bristol, with some airlines resorting to manual check-in processes. Retailers and other businesses faced difficulties processing card payments, leading to cash-only transactions in many instances. The outage also disrupted railway services, with several operators unable to access essential systems, resulting in potential train cancellations and delays.
We at O’Brien Media want to reassure our customers that our services remain unaffected by this incident. As we do not utilise Microsoft software for our website hosting and email services, nor do we employ the CrowdStrike security platform, our operations continue to run smoothly.
However, we have seen an uptick in support requests from clients who have been directly impacted by these outages. We are committed to assisting all our customers during this challenging period. Our team is actively providing alternative solutions to help mitigate the effects of the disruption on their operations.
If you are a customer affected by the Microsoft outage and have not yet reached out to us, please do so. Our support team is available to assist you via email at [email protected] or via SMS at 07860 033 633 over the weekend.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work together to navigate these technical challenges. Thank you for your continued trust in O’Brien Media.
Stay safe and connected,
The O’Brien Media Team
National Cyber Security Centre warns of rise in phishing incidents
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning about an increase in phishing incidents in the wake of the global IT outage.
Phishing is when fraudsters send scam emails or text messages intended to trick users into revealing sensitive information and transfer money.
“An increase in phishing referencing this outage has already been observed, as opportunistic malicious actors seek to take advantage of the situation,” the NCSC has said in a statement to the BBC.
We urge customers to review their guidelines to ensure protections against phishing are in place and we call on people to be alert to suspicious emails or messages.
We have increased the spam and suspicious email quarantine thresholds temporarily to provide added security to email services provided to our customers.