Key learnings from the Microsoft outage

They say Friday 13 is unlucky, and it certainly is today – especially for Microsoft and all its users. 

“With the global outage it will be intriguing to see what was the official cause of what is going to be a very disruptive day for businesses around the world. This is definitely a point to look at your plans around “disaster recovery” as whilst it’s not something that’s a complete loss of infrastructure, the need for alternative communication methods, and a rehearsed plan for “critical” operations that rely on email should be a consideration” says our security expert, Scott Harrison. 

What caused the Microsoft outage and which tools have been affected? 

An elevated load on its infrastructure is said to have caused the Microsoft outage – where the servers experienced a high-volume of unexpected overload that it couldn’t handle. 

Microsoft apps that are affected include Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and Copilot. 

See the Service Health Status. 

Microsoft has confirmed it’s not the result of a cyberattack. 

These tools are used worldwide and will have a massive impact on many – from day-to-day business tasks, to sales, to even more business-critical aspects. For instance, airports like Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted have been affected. Prescriptions may take longer too. 

Find out more and get the latest on the outage here. 

We’ve also been affected – our services desk, GMCirrus and general emails and Microsoft Teams aren’t working – so if you need to contact us, please call +44 (0) 1364 654100. 

What are the key learnings from the Microsoft outage? 

Server loads 

What can cause server overloads? Traffic spikes, misconfigured servers, and unoptimised code are just some of the things that can stress out your server. 

How can you reduce overloads? Here are some tips: 

• Offload asset delivery on the origin server 

• Reduce image sizes 

• Use a load balancer to distribute traffic effectively 

• Set rate limits on the number of requests a source can make 

• Use bot management solutions to detect and block bots 

• Utilise virtual waiting room to proactively manage your traffic spikes 

• Continuously monitor and investigate performance and spikes 

Backup and recovery 

Backup and disaster recovery are your best friend. Your servers, virtual machines, Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Google workspaces and more. They all need backing up. And need to be easily recoverable too. Your recovery also needs to be regularly tested. 

At the same time, it’s also integral to have a contingency plan in place. ESET’s Jake Moore told Radio 4’s Today programme the issue originates from several computers being down and other computers having to cope with the excess traffic. 

 “Just like on a motorway when you block one lane, you have to put all of the excess traffic through just one or two lanes and then everything goes and backs up, it slows down,” he says. 

Some organisations use a particular set of servers in one part of the world while others use servers elsewhere, which is the reason why some users might have noticed that their Teams account is working but their emails aren’t updating. 

Multiple infrastructures 

Don’t rely just on one infrastructure for critical work – make sure you also have an alternative platform in place in case incidents like this occur. 

Beware of scammers 

Scammers will take this as a prime opportunity to send false and malicious threats, ransomware and social engineering tactics to make a few quick pounds. Skill up on your security awareness training and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. 

Need help with your backup and security? 

From helping you with our managed backup and disaster recovery services and Microsoft 365 and Azure health checks, to working with an array of cyber security partners from across the industry – we’ll source everything you need to stay secure, compliant and prevent incidents. Likewise, if you want to ensure you have another backup infrastructure in place, we can help. 

Book our free Seven Layers of Security Assessment with our security expert to find your gaps.