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<\/p>\nAWS has said the underlying issue behind the outage was with DNS (domain name system).<\/p>\n
Professor Oli Buckley, an expert in cybersecurity at Loughborough University, explained that DNS is \u201cessentially a phone book for the internet, it tells devices where they need to go to find a particular service\u201d.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cWhen this happens it hits thousands of systems that rely on it, and they can\u2019t find the right server. Ultimately this means that they slow down as they try to locate it, and eventually just stop trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackout most likely caused by simple technical error, expert says<\/p>\n
The AWS blackout will have most likely been caused by something \u201crelatively simple\u201d which takes a while to fix, a computing professor has said.<\/p>\n
Professor Alan Woodward, a visiting professor of computing at the University of Surrey, said history suggests the AWS outage will have been caused by \u201csomething relatively simple like a misconfiguration in DNS [domain name system] or BGP [border gateway protocol]\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOnce these errors propagate across the internet, it takes a while for the update to reach the far corners of the internet, so the outage can appear longer than you might expect for such minor errors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackout hits more than 1,000 companies worldwide<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 companies have been impacted by the blackout on Monday, according to Downdetecter.<\/p>\n
So far today more than 6.5 million reports have been received worldwide affecting more than 1,000 companies, the platform told the BBC.<\/p>\n
Reports from UK users are now at more than 800,000, it said.<\/p>\n
UK \u2018needs digital sovereignty from big tech monopolies\u2019<\/p>\n
Britain is \u201cdangerously overexposed to foreign big tech monopolies\u201d, the executive director of a technology think tank has warned.<\/p>\n
Cori Crider, executive director of the Future of Technology Institute, said: \u201cThe UK can\u2019t keep leaving its critical infrastructure at the mercy of US tech giants. With Amazon Web Services down, we\u2019ve seen the lights go out across the modern economy \u2014 from banking to communications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t just an inconvenience; it\u2019s a strategic vulnerability. Britain is dangerously overexposed to foreign big tech monopolies that don\u2019t answer to UK regulators or the public. If we want digital resilience, the answer isn\u2019t just better oversight \u2014 it\u2019s digital sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to build and back British cloud infrastructure that secures our economy and safeguards our future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Train information could be out of date, says National Rail Enquiries <\/p>\n
Information on train services could be out of date due to the problems, National Rail Enquiries has warned.<\/p>\n
National Rail, which provides real-time information for train journeys, said earlier this morning that parts of its website were not working correctly.<\/p>\n
In an update at 12.55pm, it said the website and app were mostly operating as normal, but work was \u201congoing\u201d to impacted systems.<\/p>\n
National Rail warned that until that work is finished, \u201csome of the information that is being displayed on the National Rail Enquiries website may still be out of date\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vodafone and Three unaffected by blackout<\/p>\n
Vodafone and Three networks are operating normally, the provider has confirmed.<\/p>\n
According to Downdetector, reported outages at VodafoneThree could be due to the AWS blackout, but the provider said its networks were not affected.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said: \u201cSome customers may have difficulty accessing certain apps and websites due to a wider issue with Amazon Web Services. This is unrelated to our mobile networks. We are continuing to monitor the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackout exposes fragility of cloud infrastructure<\/p>\n
The AWS blackout highlights the fragility of cloud infrastructure, according to Marek Szustak, IT security officer at eSky Group, which owns the Thomas Cook travel agency.<\/p>\n
Szustak said: \u201cToday\u2019s outage in the AWS US-East-1 region shows how even the largest cloud environments can be paralysed by a seemingly minor piece of infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, the problem concerned DNS, the foundation of network communication. When domain name resolution stops working, entire applications and services can stop responding, no matter how well they are designed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a good lesson for companies using the cloud: it is worth designing systems so that a failure in one region or provider does not bring the entire business to a halt. Redundancy, geographical distribution of resources and testing of emergency scenarios should be the norm, not a luxury.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd besides, as engineers say, it\u2019s always DNS.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackout reports begin to fall<\/p>\n
Social media apps, doorbell devices and British banks were among the internet services most impacted by this morning\u2019s AWS blackout.<\/p>\n
Data from Downdetector shows that Snapchat received the most outage reports, reaching a peak of 7,500 reports by 9.55am. Lloyds Bank had more than 7,000 outage reports around the same time, but this figure dropped to 500 over the following two hours.<\/p>\n
Outage reports appear to be falling for almost all internet services impacted by the AWS outage, with the exception of BT which had 2,000 reports by 11.40am.<\/p>\n
Lloyds services begin to return<\/p>\n
Lloyds bank said services were coming back online after disruption caused by the AWS blackout.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said: \u201cWe are sorry for the issues affecting customers this morning, we are seeing services coming back online and continue to work to see that happens as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, and Halifax customers were unable to log in to their online banking accounts this morning amid the outage.<\/p>\n
Blackout risks causing payroll delays, experts warn<\/p>\n
Payrolls could be affected by the AWS blackout, experts have warned.<\/p>\n
Melanie Pizzey, the chief executive and founder of the Global Payroll Alliance, said there were reports that the accounting software Xero, and the payment tools Square and HMRC have been impacted.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cToday, the vast majority of payroll systems are cloud-based, relying on third-party infrastructure for everything from time tracking and data processing to payment distribution. When platforms like AWS go down, there is an immediate risk that salaries will not be calculated correctly, processed on time, or delivered at all. In many cases, a delay in payroll, even by a day, can create serious consequences for both employees and employers, including financial hardship, compliance breaches, and loss of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payroll teams should have \u201crobust contingency plans\u201d in place such as multi-vendor infrastructure, secure offline backups, and clear protocols for emergency manual processing when digital systems fail, she added.<\/p>\n
Government in talks with Amazon<\/p>\n
The government is in contact with Amazon about the blackout, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware of an incident affecting Amazon Web Services, and several online services which rely on their infrastructure,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThrough our established incident response arrangements, we are in contact with the company, who are working to restore services as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
No cyberattack linked to blackout, expert says<\/p>\n
The AWS blackout was not caused by a cyberattack, according to an IT expert.<\/p>\n
Dr Amro Al-Said Ahmad, a lecturer in computer science at Keele University, said: \u201cThe root cause of the outage appears to be significant error rates for requests made to their data storage service, DynamoDB, in the US-East region. Therefore, the outage was not caused by cyber-related attacks, as was speculated.<\/p>\n
\u201cResolving major outages like this presents significant challenges because of the cloud complexity and its dependencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, diagnoses need to see how much third-party platforms are dependent on AWS cloud. The solution and fix will involve thorough diagnostics, testing, and deployment of a reliable fix, which, based on past incidents in the industry, can take anywhere from hours to several days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackout exposes banks\u2019 reliance on third-party providers<\/p>\n
The AWS blackout highlights the fragility of banks\u2019 dependence on third-party providers for critical services, a technology expert has said.<\/p>\n
Alina Timofeeva, a senior adviser in technology, data and AI, said: \u201cBanks, like many sectors, are increasingly reliant on third-party technology providers for critical services. The AWS outage, disrupting UK banks and global platforms, has again revealed the fragility of this dependence. It mirrors the CrowdStrike incident last year \u2014 proof that a single provider failure can cascade across industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis outage exposes systemic concentration risk \u2014 our global economy depends on a handful of providers whose failures can disrupt millions.\u201d<\/p>\n
She called for banks to \u201cembed resilience by design\u201d, governments to \u201cdemand greater transparency from cloud giants\u201d, and regulators to \u201cchallenge concentration risk and ensure efficiency never compromises security\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cResilience can no longer be an afterthought \u2014 it must be built into our digital DNA,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Most affected services recovering, AWS says<\/p>\n
Services appear to be coming back online.<\/p>\n
AWS said in its latest update that most of the affected services are seeing recovery. It also confirmed that global services which rely on AWS have \u201calso recovered\u201d.<\/p>\n
HMRC said customers can now access their online services \u201cas normal\u201d.<\/p>\n
Downdetector shows that the number of issues being reported has dropped across the affected apps.<\/p>\n
Cloud reliance increases business risk, insurer warns<\/p>\n
Outsourcing aspects like cloud infrastructure increases risk for businesses, an insurer has warned. Issues affecting Amazon Web Services, the world\u2019s largest cloud computing provider, appear to be behind the widespread outage.<\/p>\n
David Warr, the cyber portfolio manager for the business insurer QBE, said: \u201cAs British businesses expand their use of cloud infrastructure and AI tools, they are also reshaping their risk landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile outsourcing certain parts of your business can create efficiencies and cost savings, there are security considerations to bear in mind. Each outsourced provider that connects into your company creates an additional layer of risk \u2014 not only in terms of potential malware transmission but also in terms of critical dependencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach third-party connection creates new risk, and a single point of failure can halt business operations altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n
UK hit by close to half a million blackout reports<\/p>\n
Downdetector has said it has received nearly half a million reports in the UK alone since the blackout began.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson told the BBC that it has seen more than four million reports of issues globally this morning, compared to the 1.8 million it sees on a normal weekday.<\/p>\n
More than 500 companies are reporting issues, with more than 400,000 reports in the UK alone, they said.<\/p>\n
HMRC working with AWS to fix blackout<\/p>\n
HMRC said it was working \u201curgently\u201d with AWS to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n
Confirming it was affected by the blackout, an HMRC spokesperson said: \u201cWe\u2019re aware that customers are having problems accessing our online services, as part of global issues affecting Amazon Web Services. We\u2019re working urgently with them on this matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur phonelines are currently busy as a result, so for anything that isn\u2019t urgent we recommend calling at a later time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snapchat, Canva and Signal among apps down<\/p>\n
Snapchat, Canva and Signal are among those confirming that they are experiencing issues.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Snapchat said: \u201cWe\u2019re aware that some Snapchatters are having issues using the app right now \u2014 hang tight, we\u2019re looking into it!\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Canva, the graphic design tool, said: \u201cOur cloud provider is currently experiencing problems. It\u2019s not the experience we want for you and we\u2019re working closely with them to help re-establish service. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work to bring things back to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith Whittaker, the president of the messaging app Signal, said: \u201cWe are aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.\u201d<\/p>\n
London Stock Exchange Group data services has also reported problems linked to AWS.<\/p>\n
Amazon reports \u2018significant recovery\u2019 after blackout<\/p>\n
AWS has said its services are already seeing \u201csignificant signs of recovery\u201d.<\/p>\n
In its latest update, the cloud computing provider which appears to be the source of the blackout, said: \u201cWe are seeing significant signs of recovery. Most requests should now be succeeding. We continue to work through a backlog of queued requests. We will continue to provide additional information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apps hit by login and server issues<\/p>\n
Users of the affected apps are reporting issues with login, websites and server connection, according to Downdetector.<\/p>\n
The most reported problems for HMRC were related to login (60 per cent) and website (30 per cent), for Zoom it was starting a call (57 per cent) and login (34 per cent), and for Slack it was server connection (48 per cent) and app (42 per cent).<\/p>\n
Banking apps hit by blackout![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/8378f650-7626-44c2-ab3a-9b30b108e2b1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland have confirmed their services are impacted.<\/p>\n
The three banks issued similar statements on X which said: \u201cYou may have seen reports of issues with Amazon Web Services affecting a number of websites and apps across the UK today. We know this is impacting some of our services right now. We\u2019re sorry about this. Please bear with us as we investigate this.\u201d<\/p>\n
App users are reporting issues with online and mobile banking as well as mobile login, according to Downdetector.<\/p>\n
Internet blackout affecting range of UK websites<\/p>\n
Dozens of apps, including Amazon, Zoom, Snapchat and HMRC, have been hit by an internet blackout.<\/p>\n
The outage is caused by issues with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the US which are impacting apps that depend on its infrastructure, according to the service disruption platform Downdetector, which showed a spike in failures reported from 8am.<\/p>\n
Other affected apps include banks such as Lloyds and Halifax, work apps such as Slack and Canva, and phone and broadband companies including BT and EE.<\/p>\n
The gaming platforms Wordle, Duolingo, Roblox and Fortnite were also affected, as are National Rail, Microsoft 365, and Eventbrite.<\/p>\n
AWS said engineers were working to mitigate the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AWS has said the underlying issue behind the outage was with DNS (domain name system). Professor Oli Buckley,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[168088,14120,324,5176,4121,748,12452,393,17326,4884,2998,12,1144,10172,712,16497,16,15,1764,28356],"class_list":{"0":"post-514468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-recovering","9":"tag-after","10":"tag-amazon","11":"tag-and","12":"tag-aws","13":"tag-britain","14":"tag-down","15":"tag-england","16":"tag-follow","17":"tag-great-britain","18":"tag-latest","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-northern-ireland","21":"tag-ring","22":"tag-scotland","23":"tag-snapchat","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-united-kingdom","26":"tag-wales","27":"tag-went"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115406718523312757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}