Latest: UAE’s MoFA says services back on after Microsoft outage

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Update: The UAE’s foreign ministry said its electronic systems were functioning normally again.

The UAE government’s various arms issued an alert earlier in the day, on the ongoing Microsoft IT outage which has impacted flights, banks and media companies across the world.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) said in a statement on X, that users might find it difficult to access certain services due to the ongoing global IT outage.

Dear customer,

Due to a global technical issue, and as our services are integrated with our partners’, you may experience difficulties accessing some of our online services.

Our technical team is actively working with the relevant authorities to overcome this challenge.

Thank…

— وزارة الموارد البشرية والتوطين (@MOHRE_UAE) July 19, 2024

Additionally, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an “urgent notice,” on X.

It said, “We inform you of the existence of a global technical glitch that affected some of the electronic systems of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the authentication service. We advise customers not to make any transactions until this problem is resolved.”

تنويه عاجل وهام
نحيطكم علماً بوجود خلل فني عالمي أثر على بعض الأنظمة الالكترونية لوزارة الخارجية، بما فيه خدمة التصديقات.
ننصح المتعاملين بعدم القيام بأي معاملات لحين حل هذا الخلل pic.twitter.com/h0e6l4omJc

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) July 19, 2024

‘Not a cyber-security attack’

The UAE’s Cyber ​​Security Council has issued a notification on the global IT outage, as per state news agency WAM.

It said, “There are no indications of hacks or cyber attacks for to the global technical failure.”

It additionally warned users against falling prey to scams or hackers during this outage. “We recommend that you exercise caution to avoid falling victim to hackers who may exploit this technical flaw. We call on all members of society to obtain information from official sources and not to be led by rumours.”

مجلس الأمن السيبراني لحكومة الإمارات:

-لا مؤشرات لاختراقات أو هجمات سيبرانية إثر الخلل التقني العالمي.

– نوصي بأخذ الحيطة والحذر تفاديا للوقوع ضحية للمخترقين الذين قد يستغلون هذا الخلل التقني سيبرانيا.

– نهيب بجميع أفراد المجتمع باستقاء المعلومات من مصادرها الرسمية وعدم… pic.twitter.com/qSW9SI3Uc1

— وكالة أنباء الإمارات (@wamnews) July 19, 2024

TDRA monitoring the situation

The UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) said in a post on X, “We inform you that there is a technical defect in the Crowdstrike software update that may affect the electronic systems of the institutions that use it.”

It added an advisory note for users of Microsoft to “avoid downloading or updating the CrowdStrike platforms until the issue is resolved.”

⚠️⚠️
Important and Urgent Notice from TDRA to #CrowdStrike Software Users pic.twitter.com/stsrabV84S

— تدرا 🇦🇪 TDRA (@tdrauae) July 19, 2024

The statement added that the TDRA is closely monitoring the developing situation.

Read: Microsoft global outage: Major banks, airlines and media impacted