AWS is a cloud computing platform that enables companies to rent computing power and storage over the internet rather than relying on their own physical servers. By hosting websites, applications, and databases remotely, AWS supports a huge portion of the internet’s infrastructure.
Because so many online services depend on AWS, any disruption can cause significant knock-on effects across multiple sectors.
While cloud outages are not uncommon, this event underscored how reliant modern society has become on these invisible digital systems.
On Monday, a significant outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) caused widespread disruption across the internet, temporarily taking down numerous popular websites, apps, and online services used by millions around the globe. The hours-long technical failure exposed just how deeply modern life depends on cloud infrastructure—from banking and airlines to gaming platforms and smart home devices.
What happened?
The disruption began around 07:11 GMT when AWS, the world’s largest cloud computing provider, experienced a major system failure originating from its largest and oldest data centre in Virginia. The root cause was traced to a problematic update to the API (Application Programming Interface) of DynamoDB, a critical cloud database service that many companies rely on to store user data and essential information.
An error in this update affected the Domain Name System (DNS), which acts like the internet’s phone book by translating website names into IP addresses that computers use to communicate. Because of the DNS malfunction, apps and services could not locate the correct server addresses for DynamoDB, resulting in widespread connectivity failures.
As DynamoDB went offline, the failure cascaded across other AWS services, with a total of 113 affected services reported. By 10:11 GMT, AWS announced that normal operations had resumed, although some delays in processing residual data were expected to continue for several hours.
Which services were impacted?
The outage disrupted a vast range of services. Popular social media platforms like Snapchat and Pinterest experienced outages, as did communication apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Zoom, and Slack. Gamers were affected on platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, and Xbox, while streaming services including Apple TV also saw interruptions.
In everyday life, customers reported that smart home devices like Ring doorbells and Alexa speakers stopped responding. Major retailers, including Starbucks and Etsy, faced technical difficulties. Financial services in the US, such as Venmo, were also affected, causing inconvenience for users relying on these apps for transactions.
News outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press experienced technical glitches, as did airlines like Delta and United, and cryptocurrency platforms such as Coinbase. Even education and creative tools like Duolingo and Canva reported outages during the incident.
Why did so many apps go offline?
The widespread impact was due to the nature of AWS’s cloud services. Many companies outsource critical parts of their infrastructure—such as data storage, website hosting, and application databases—to AWS. When AWS experiences downtime, it ripples through the many businesses and platforms that depend on its technology.
“This isn’t an isolated Amazon problem—it affects thousands of companies that rely on their cloud services,” explained Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. “The fallout shows how dependent we are on a few tech giants for everyday online services.”
Was this a cyberattack?
Amid the disruption, concerns quickly arose about whether the outage was caused by a cyberattack or a deliberate act. Experts, however, quickly dismissed these fears.
“Most cloud outages are caused by human error rather than malicious activity,” said Bryson Bort, CEO of cybersecurity firm Scythe. “In this case, it was a technical error during an update, not a hack or cyberattack.”
How did amazon respond?
Amazon acted swiftly, with engineers working “immediately” to diagnose and fix the problem. AWS stated it pursued “multiple parallel paths” to restore services as quickly as possible. The company confirmed that the main issue had been resolved, though some users still experienced minor delays as systems recovered fully.
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Amazon has promised to publish a detailed report explaining the outage and measures to prevent similar issues in the future.
