Egypt airports, services unaffected by global IT outage; crisis cell formed for follow-up: Cabinet

CAIRO – 19 July 2024: The Egyptian Cabinet has stated that Egypt so far remains unaffected by the widespread IT outage that has significantly impacted businesses and critical facilities.

However, in response to the situation, the Cabinet has ordered the establishment of a crisis cell to monitor and address any potential developments.

A global Microsoft outage on Friday caused extensive disruptions worldwide, leading to grounded flights and the paralysis of numerous banks, hospital systems, and media outlets.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike attributed the outage to a flawed security update that the company deployed for computers running Microsoft Windows, as reported by the Associated Press.

The company denied that the issue was the result of a cyberattack.

Egypt unaffected

The Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) released a statement affirming that Egyptian airports, maritime ports, banking services, communications networks, and the government service platform are all operating normally.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has instructed the formation of a crisis cell comprising ministries and relevant entities to assess and address the impacts and ramifications of the global outage.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reassured citizens that all flights departing from Egypt have been operating according to the scheduled operations without any issues.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has reported that the business and management systems of the ministry's petroleum and gas companies and entities are functioning efficiently and stably.

Nevertheless, the ministry has announced an escalation in preparedness as a preemptive measure in the event of any potential implications.

Extent of the crisis

Long lines snaked through airports in the US, Europe, and Asia as airlines grappled with the loss of access to check-in and booking services.

This unfortunate occurrence coincided with the peak summer vacation season, causing significant disruptions for many travelers.

Meanwhile, several news outlets, including public broadcaster ABC and Sky News Australia, were forced off the airwaves for hours, and banks and hospitals were severely affected by losing communication with their systems.

Highlighting the potential consequences of the outage, cyber expert James Bore expressed concerns to AP that critical systems we rely on during crucial moments would become inaccessible, leading to adverse outcomes.

Bore cited hospitals as an example, warning that appointment scheduling difficulties could result in individuals not receiving the necessary care.

Tragically, he stated that deaths could occur due to the disruption, given the extensive interdependence on these interconnected systems.

Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Microsoft 365 took to the social media platform X to reassure users that they were actively working on rerouting affected traffic to alternative systems in an effort to mitigate the impact.

Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress. More details can be found within the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/uSHwRmYdzx

— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024

In an emailed statement, CrowdStrike clarified that the issue stemmed from a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts and was not indicative of a security incident or cyberattack.

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” the company added.