A cascading computer outage that grounded planes, stymied hospitals and disrupted critical public services exposed the depth of the global economy’s dependence on a single company: Microsoft. Microsoft’s email, cloud storage and video conferencing products have long been workplace staples nationwide, including within the federal government, for which the company is a major supplier. Smith’s reputation as the industry’s de facto ambassador to Washington will probably be tested by the outage fallout. “It’s a failure that demands swift answers,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who in May urged federal agencies to probe Microsoft’s security lapses, said in a social media post on Friday. The FTC itself was impacted by the outage, and employees were working to resolve issues on Friday.

Source: International New York Times July 21, 2024 08:31 UTC