Minister: Greece Not Severely Affected by Microsoft Outage

Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou.

Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou stated on Friday that the impact of the massive global IT outage experienced by Microsoft was relatively isolated in Greece, despite the widespread disruptions reported worldwide.

This outage, the most extensive to date on digital networks, is linked to a software issue involving CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity tools related to Microsoft servers. Reports indicate that a flawed software update from CrowdStrike, issued on Friday morning, has led to significant computer outages.

In an interview with Skai Radio in Athens, the Greek minister explained that the scheduled upgrade of the relevant software in Greece had not yet occurred, which is why the country’s systems were less affected.

The minister also clarified that the security software in question is primarily used by large enterprises, so individual Windows users should not be impacted.

The IT outage has disrupted travel and health services, markets, banks, government agencies, and many other service sector businesses globally. Systems across these sectors have been affected.

Cirium: Over 1,300 flights canceled

Photo source: Berlin Brandenburg Airport

Out of 110,000 scheduled commercial flights worldwide, 1,390 have been canceled, according to global aviation analytics firm Cirium. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has experienced the most significant disruptions, with 84 flights canceled and an average delay of 75 minutes. In India, travelers are encountering long queues, with airlines such as IndiGo and Akasa issuing handwritten boarding passes.

According to the BBC, the US has seen 512 flights canceled, Germany 92, India 56, Italy 45, and Canada 21. Despite these widespread issues in air travel systems worldwide, Athens International Airport operated smoothly today.

In Greece, Athens International Airport and Greek airlines AEGEAN and SKY express were not severely affected.

CrowdStrike: Today was not a security or cyber incident

Photo source: Microsoft

On Friday evening, CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz stated that the cybersecurity firm’s customers “remain fully protected” despite the ongoing global IT outage.

In a statement posted on X, Kurtz emphasized: “Today was not a security or cyber incident. Our customers remain fully protected. We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption. We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are restored and that they can continue to deliver the services their customers rely on.”

In related news, Pavlos Marinakis, the government spokesman in Athens, stated that the issues arising from a cyberattack on the Greek Land Registry (Ktimatologio) systems were most likely not connected to the global IT outage. He also mentioned that the situation was stabilizing, with measures being implemented to address the problems.