UPDATE: Amazon’s cloud service unit, AWS, is in the process of recovering from a massive outage that has disrupted services for millions of users worldwide. The incident, which began earlier today, affected thousands of websites and major applications, including Snapchat and Reddit, marking the largest internet disruption since last year’s CrowdStrike malfunction.
The outage lasted approximately three hours, with systems gradually coming back online as of 6 AM ET (9 PM AEDT). AWS reported “significant signs of recovery” for affected services, stating, “Most requests should now be succeeding. We continue to work through a backlog of queued requests.” This critical incident underscores the vulnerability of interconnected technologies relied upon by businesses and individuals alike.
According to Ookla, the owner of outage tracking website Downdetector, over 4 million users reported issues due to the outage. Some apps and websites, including Roblox and PayPal’s Venmo, began showing signs of improvement, with Snapchat’s reports dropping from a peak of over 22,000 to roughly 4,000. However, many services, including Reddit and financial platform Chime, remain affected.
The outage has impacted a wide range of platforms, including game applications like Fortnite, Clash Royale, and Clash of Clans. Additionally, services like Amazon’s shopping website, Prime Video, and Alexa were also disrupted. In the United States, ride-sharing service L Lyft experienced significant downtime, causing frustration for users.
In the UK, financial institutions such as Lloyd Bank and the Bank of Scotland faced issues, as well as telecom giants Vodafone and BT. The UK tax, payments, and customs authority HMRC also reported problems, illustrating the widespread impact of this outage across multiple sectors.
Experts emphasize the implications of this incident, noting that the reliance on a small number of global cloud providers can lead to significant disruptions in daily life and business operations. Junade Ali, a software engineer and cyber expert, indicated that the issue appears to stem from one of AWS’s networking systems. “As this issue can usually be resolved centrally, unless further issues arise, it should be mitigated over the coming hours,” he stated.
This incident highlights the critical need for redundancy in digital services, as major companies dependent on a single service provider face risks to their operational stability. As AWS continues to restore services, users are urged to remain patient while systems work to recover fully.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as AWS works to resolve the remaining issues.
