Microsoft outage disrupts global institutions, exposing single-vendor risks

A major Microsoft 365 outage disrupted schools, hospitals, courts, government agencies, and companies worldwide, affecting essential tools like Outlook, Teams, and Copilot for millions of users. The incident, which began on Friday and lasted over 24 hours, forced organizations to revert to fax machines and phone calls. Police in the UK couldn't receive online crime reports, while courts in Manchester suspended a trial and Deutsche Bahn faced email restrictions. Microsoft restored services on Saturday, attributing the issue to unexpected server unavailability, not a cyberattack. The outage highlighted global dependence on a few tech providers, prompting European officials to call for developing independent alternatives to reduce vulnerability.