Internet Services Disrupted for Hours by Amazon Cloud Outage

 AFP/APP

Sanfranciso: Popular internet services ranging from streaming platforms to messaging apps and banking networks were offline for several hours on Monday due to a major outage in Amazon’s cloud network, highlighting the world’s dependence on the tech giant’s infrastructure.

The disruption hit major platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Perplexity AI, Fortnite, Airbnb, Snapchat, and Duolingo. Mobile services and messaging apps such as Signal and WhatsApp also faced interruptions in Europe, according to Downdetector.

Users reported difficulties accessing websites, including Amazon’s own e-commerce site, while some banks such as Lloyd’s confirmed service disruptions linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Amazon stated on its service status page that the affected systems had returned to “pre-event levels”, though it warned that data backlogs could take hours to clear.

Downdetector recorded over 11 million reports of AWS issues, with problems persisting nearly 18 hours after the initial disruption began. A massive spike in complaints appeared early Monday, followed by an even larger surge hours later.

Amazon later identified the cause of the outage as an issue with the Domain Name System (DNS) — the internet’s “address book” that directs data traffic — which led to failures in its Network Load Balancer. The company said it throttled operations as engineers worked to restore full functionality.

AWS currently controls nearly one-third of the global cloud infrastructure market, powering millions of applications and websites worldwide. Its maintenance team detected “increased error rates” across multiple services at 0711 GMT, resolved the issue, but had to process a substantial backlog of stalled requests.

Financial analyst Michael Hewson remarked that the outage underscored global reliance on a handful of cloud providers.

“It’s almost akin to putting all of your economic eggs in one basket,” he said.

AWS leads the global cloud computing market, followed by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Businesses, governments, and consumers across the world depend on these systems for online activities, including critical operations.

The British government’s websites were also affected, according to Downdetector, which relies on user reports to track internet problems.

Emarketer senior analyst Jacob Bourne warned that such outages reveal vulnerabilities in critical digital infrastructure:

“As cloud reliance and workloads expand, these outages could hit industries harder.”

In July 2024, another widespread internet disruption occurred when cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued a faulty software update, impacting airports, hospitals, and corporations globally. According to Microsoft, the glitch affected 8.5 million devices, resulting in system crashes and the notorious “blue screen of death.”