A sign is seen at the Microsoft headquarters on July 3, 2024 in Redmond, Washington. David Ryder/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by David Ryder / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

MANILA (UPDATE 5)- Airlines, airports, banks, telecommunications firms, and other institutions worldwide, including those in the Philippines, have reported service disruptions due to an outage of Microsoft services.

Microsoft said users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services, but the company was doing "mitigation actions" amid the service disruptions.   

READ: 'Large-scale' IT outage hits companies worldwide

Germany's digital security authority said the global IT outage had been caused by a "faulty update" from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which affected Windows-based computers.

CrowdStrike meanwhile said it has already deployed a fix for the bug that caused the global IT outage affecting airports, banks and media across the world.

"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts... The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said in a message on social media platform X.

PH BANKS AFFECTED

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said the issue has impacted certain operations in the bank which may cause longer wait times in its branches and contact center.

"You may also experience delays in crediting of financial transactions including bills payment and interbank fund transfers as other institutions are likewise affected. Our technical team is already coordinating closely with the provider on the resolution of this issue," the bank said in an advisory. 

BPI however also assured its customers that its branches, ATMs, CAMs, online and mobile banking services remain available. 

BDO also said it also experienced technical difficulties due to the outage of Microsoft services.

But the bank said that as of 8:24 p.m. it had fully restored BDO digital channels.

Metrobank also said customers may experience a slowdown or temporary unavailability of some bank products and services through its online channels because of the global outage.

"Clients may continue to access their funds through the bank’s ATMs or deposit funds through Cash Accept Machines. Our branch personnel are ready to assist or you may reach us through our hotline: 88-700-700," the bank said.

UnionBank said that due to the outage, its Customer Service Hotline and some branch services and online credit card transactions are temporarily unavailable.

"In the meantime, please use the UnionBank Online App or website, or any of our ATMs nationwide, for continued access to your accounts and essential banking services," UnionBank said. 

RCBC said it is currently experiencing technical difficulties affecting RCBC Pulz, RCBC Online Banking and Diskartech resulting in a slowdown in some online banking transactions.  

The bank said the following services are temporarily unavailable until further notice:

RCBC Pulz and Online Banking

- Fund transfers to other banks via Instapay, PesoNet, Swift and PDDTS

- Bills payment 

- Cardless withdrawal

- Credit card services

- Online check deposit

- PayDay NOW and Salary Loan NOW

Diskartech: 

- Fund transfers to RCBC and to other banks via Instapay 

- Cardless withdrawal

Customers however may continue to do their banking transactions at any RCBC Branch or RCBC ATMs nationwide.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said its Peso Real Time Gross Settlement System or PhilPassPlus was unaffected and all settlements, including PESONet, Instapay, ATM and checks, were successfully completed today. 

The central bank said it is "closely monitoring" the situation but added that "the financial system remains resilient, with alternative channels and digital platforms available for individuals and businesses."

The Department of Information and Communications Technology meanwhile said the outage was not the result of hacking.

"This is not hacking, this is [a] faulty update that affects systems and hindi naman to yung general hack na tina-target yung bank institutions or mga private entities," said ICT Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso.

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, LONG LINES AT AIRPORTS 

Cebu Pacific and AirAsia said they had to cancel several flights because of the software disruption. 

LIST: Airlines cancel several flights amid IT disruption

It advised its passengers that it is currently experiencing technical issues, reportedly related to technology provider CrowdStrike, which caused a global Microsoft system outage.

"The technical issue requires us to handle affected processes manually, potentially causing delays," the airline said. 

Long lines form at the check-in counters of Cebu Pacific at NAIA Terminal 3 amid the outage of Microsoft services. Dino Ponti Orig, ABS-CBN News 

The company said it is working to mitigate disruptions to its operations and will provide regular updates as the situation progresses.  

"We appreciate your patience and understanding," Cebu Pacific said. 

AirAsia said its services have also been affected by the Microsoft issue.

"This outage is causing unexpected rebooting of machines, leading to some operational disruptions related to check-in processes and navigating the AirAsia MOVE app," said Steve Dailisan, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at AirAsia.

The airline advised passengers to visit its social media platforms and the AirAsia newsroom on its website for updates.

Meanwhile, both the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said they are mobilizing additional personnel to help with the situation. 

CAAP noted that there is already congestion at the Davao International Airport Passenger Terminal Building caused by the system issue in Cebu Pacific, leading to delays and two flight cancellations.

MIAA said it has deployed additional manpower to manage extended queues at check-in counters and will provide "Malasakit Kits" to affected passengers.

GLOBE UNAFFECTED 

Globe Telecom meanwhile said its core services, which includes call, text and data connectivity, remain unaffected.

“The issue was isolated to a few Windows-based workstations that our employees use for work for the most part, and some servers that do not materially affect our core services,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information Security Officer.

Health maintenance organization MediCard Philippines also advised clients that due to the IT outage, they are handling some processes manually, which may cause delays.

The DICT meanwhile said it is "vigilantly monitoring the ongoing software outage"  through the Cybersecurity Bureau and the National Computer Emergency Response Team.

Paraiso however said it is still unclear when the service disruptions will be resolved. 

"I cannot say because it’s really dependent on Microsoft how they mitigate that particular scenario and including yung security provider on how to fix their faulty update," the ICT official said.

He said some government agencies were also affected.

The outage reporting website downdetector.com also showed a spike in the number of users reporting outages with Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure, and its office productivity suite 365.  

Screengrab from downdetector.com

Screengrab from downdetector.com

The Microsoft outage caused service disruptions in the US, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India and other countries, according to Agence France-Presse. 

Many users of computers powered by Microsoft's Windows OS also reported their computers crashing, with the "blue screen of death" being displayed.

On X, Microsoft earlier said it was investigating an issue impacting users' ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

In its latest advisory, the tech giant said it has already fixed the underlying cause of the issue and several Microsoft 365 apps and services have been restored to full functionality. 

"Residual impact is still affecting some Microsoft 365 apps and services, and Microsoft 365 engineering are continuing to conduct additional mitigation actions to provide relief. We're continuing to observe an increase in functionality and availability for the remaining impacted scenarios and we're monitoring this closely to ensure we're progressing towards full recovery. Microsoft is continuing to treat this event with the highest possible priority,” the tech giant posted.

- With reports from Agence France-Presse