Sky News has resumed broadcasting after a global Microsoft outage left it unable to transmit earlier on Friday morning. Viewers who tuned in at 6am were met with a static message apologising for the 'disruption' and stating that the channel hoped to restore transmission shortly.
When the channel returned later in the morning, presenters were still grappling with the effects of the IT crash. The autocue and graphics systems remained non-functional, forcing anchors to read from sheets of paper or their mobile phones. Additionally, pre-recorded segments scheduled for the day could not be aired.
Anchor Anna Jones, alongside Gareth Barlow, welcomed viewers back and reported on the outage itself, noting that it was affecting businesses worldwide, including Sky News. She mentioned that the system failure was believed to have been caused by a flawed anti-virus update, though this had not been confirmed.
The outage, which affected Microsoft users globally, caused Windows computers to shut down unexpectedly. This led to disruptions at airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Edinburgh, on what was expected to be the busiest day for British airports since the Covid-19 pandemic. Train services, hospitals, GP surgeries, banks, and stock exchanges also experienced issues.
US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has admitted responsibility for the error and stated that it is working on a fix. Experts suggest the issue may stem from a 'buggy' security update but have not ruled out a cyberattack. Microsoft confirmed it is investigating the problem with its 365 apps and operating systems.
