Global IT outage: As it happened

A glitch with Microsoft Windows is said to have caused computer systems to crash around the world, crippling airport and communications operations

Countries around the world have been hit by a powerful IT outage, crippling air traffic control systems, banks, and broadcasters. Windows 10 users are said to have borne the brunt of the crisis, with media reports and experts attributing the failures to a recent update of CrowdStrike, a web/cloud-based anti-virus which has caused computers to crash.

Problems have so far been reported in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Japan, with the monitoring site Down Detector also showing outages at the Microsoft Store and Amazon, as well Delta and Ryanair airlines, among others.