Major Internet Outage Hits Global Services

Global – A widespread internet disruption on Monday affected millions of users worldwide after Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest cloud computing platforms, experienced a significant outage. The disruption impacted a broad range of popular online services, including streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, gaming platforms such as Fortnite, educational apps like Duolingo, travel booking platforms including Airbnb, and messaging services Signal and WhatsApp across Europe.

Several banks, including Lloyd’s, reported temporary service interruptions due to reliance on AWS infrastructure. Users attempting to access websites, including Amazon’s own e-commerce platform, also experienced connectivity issues.

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Cause of the AWS Outage

Amazon confirmed that the outage was triggered by a Domain Name System (DNS) issue, which functions as the internet’s address book, directing data traffic to the correct destinations. The DNS problem caused errors in the Network Load Balancer, resulting in a backlog of stalled requests that took hours to process even after initial system restoration.

AWS stated on its status page that while services had returned to “pre-event levels,” the effects lingered due to the accumulated data backlog.

“Engineers scrambled to fix the DNS issue once aware at 07:11 GMT of increased error rates affecting multiple services,” Amazon said.

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Global Impact and Industry Reliance

The outage highlighted the critical role of cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud in supporting modern internet infrastructure. Financial analyst Michael Hewson emphasized,

“On an economic level, it’s almost akin to putting all of your economic eggs in one basket.”

The disruption demonstrated the fragility of the global digital ecosystem, where millions of users and businesses rely on a few major cloud providers for everyday operations. Government websites, including those in the UK, were also affected during the outage.

“Major providers like AWS going down represent vulnerabilities in what have become critical infrastructure for organizations and, in some cases, governments globally,” said Jacob Bourne, senior analyst at Emarketer.

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AWS Market Leadership

Amazon Web Services controls nearly one-third of the global cloud infrastructure market, powering millions of apps and websites. It is followed by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, making the outage a significant event in the cloud computing sector.

AWS’s services support not only consumer apps but also essential business and government functions worldwide. The outage underscores the risks posed by centralized cloud reliance, as even a short-term disruption can ripple across industries globally.

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Lessons From Previous Outages

This event is reminiscent of the July 2024 global outage caused by a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which disrupted airports, hospitals, and millions of devices, forcing many users to confront system crashes and “blue screens of death.”

Analysts warn that as cloud dependence grows, similar outages could have increasingly severe economic and operational consequences, emphasizing the need for redundancy, monitoring, and rapid-response protocols across critical digital infrastructure.