Microsoft outage impacted businesses, people, and computers in Central Virginia

Outage in VirginiaPhoto byfreestocksonUnsplash

A Microsoft outage on Friday, July 19, 2024 impacted Central Virginia's agencies, businesses, and residents.

• Multiple flights in and out of Richmond were canceled or delayed.
• Operators of 911 lines could not respond to emergencies.
• Virginia hospitals had to cancel surgeries.
• Users at VCU and VCU Health were unable to sign into their computers.
• Online transactions were down at the DMV.
• Retail businesses closed for the day.
• Dominion Energy’s phone systems were down.

In a statement, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office said government administrative functions experienced disruptions.

“Virginians may experience delays and we ask everyone to remain patient as we work to remedy and reestablish the high standards that Virginians deserve.”

CrowdStrike

The outage was caused by a flawed software update sent out by CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity technology company based in Austin, Texas.