Microsoft Azure and 365 Services Hit by DDoS Attack, Causing 10-Hour Global Outage

Jul 30, 2024, 03:15 PM

Microsoft experienced a significant global outage on July 30, 2024, affecting its Azure cloud services and Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Xbox Live, and Minecraft. The outage, which began around 5 a.m. PST, was triggered by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Microsoft's automated protection mechanisms inadvertently exacerbated the issue, prolonging the disruption for almost 10 hours. The outage also impacted other services reliant on Azure, such as the Starbucks mobile ordering app, which was down for several hours. Microsoft has since apologized and is investigating the incident. This outage follows a similar global IT meltdown that occurred just weeks prior.