Microsoft outage disrupts global businesses and governments for 12 hours

A more than 12-hour Microsoft outage of Outlook and Teams disrupted communications for businesses and governments globally on Friday, forcing some organizations to revert to fax machines and halting at least one bond repurchase in Europe. Microsoft attributed the incident to server issues affecting features tied to Exchange Online, its cloud-based email and scheduling hub, while leaving unconnected applications operational. The company said it was not aware of any malicious activity and that a broader roll-out of software fixes was starting to stabilize the system. The outage affected government agencies from Australia to Japan and the United States, caused delays at trading firms, hindered some companies from publishing earnings, and prompted airlines to warn customers of communication lags. It is one of the longest in Microsoft's history and the second disruption to its services this year, deepening questions about global reliance on a handful of Big Tech companies.