Microsoft outage could become one of history's most damaging tech failures

A global Microsoft outage has left users unable to access Outlook, Teams, Copilot, and other Microsoft 365 services since Thursday evening, with outage reports reaching 74 countries and territories. Experts warn it could become one of the most economically damaging technology outages in history. Outage reports for Outlook on Downdetector climbed to nearly 130,000, with problems continuing into Friday morning. Microsoft said it was seeing "positive results for server stability" after applying a configuration patch, and confirmed no malicious activity was causing the incident. Financial experts noted the outage highlighted global dependence on tech giants, with small businesses facing stalled transactions and mounting costs. Microsoft's compensation is limited to service credits, excluding lost revenue, while employers must still pay staff in full.