Amazon’s AWS struggles to recover after major outage disrupts apps, services worldwide
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A logo for Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seen during the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in Paris, France, March 20, 2024. — Reuters
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Amazon’s AMZN.O cloud services unit AWS was struggling to recover from a widespread outage on Monday that knocked out thousands of websites along with the world’s most popular apps – Snapchat and Reddit – and disrupted business globally.
The uproar comes after last year’s crowded streak of malfunctions crowded technology systems in hospitals, banks and airports and highlights the dangers of the world’s interconnected technologies.
After more than six hours of outages, some applications were slowly coming back online by 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT). But AWS admitted it was still experiencing high errors.
“We can confirm significant API errors and connectivity issues across multiple services […] We’re investigating,” AWS said in the latest update on its status page.
To help with recovery, AWS said it is putting space limits on the number of requests it can make on its platform.
While some apps such as Reddit RDDTN and Roblox RBLXN had largely stabilized, by then the issues that had previously shown up were largely stable, according to Snapchat Snap.n and Duolingo.dual.o, including Snapchat Snap.n and Duolingo.
The issue originated from an AWS site known for previous outages
AWS provides on-demand computing power, data storage and other digital services to companies, governments and individuals. Disruptions to its servers can cause outages in websites and platforms that rely on its cloud infrastructure.
AWS is the world’s largest cloud provider, followed by Microsoft’s MSFT.O Azure and Alphabet’s Googl.O Google Cloud.
AWS said on its status page that Monday’s outage began at its US East-1 location in Northern Virginia, which is its oldest and largest for web services. The site experienced previous outages in 2021 and 2020.
Asked for comment, AWS directed reporters to its status page. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Junad Ali, a software engineer and cyber expert and fellow at the Institute of Engineering and Technology, said the problem occurs with one of the networking systems used to control the database products.
“As this issue can usually be resolved centrally … unless further issues are identified, this issue should be mitigated in the future,” he said.
Hours later, a rocky recovery
Okla, which owns Down Detector, said more than 4 million users reported issues due to the incident.
Snapchat, for example, last had more than 7,700 reports on Down Detector, up from about 4,000 reports earlier, but still down from a peak of more than 22,000.
AI Startup Troubled, Cryptocurrency Exchange Coin Base Coins O and Trading App Robin Hood. OA all experienced platform bottlenecks and attributed them to AWS.
Amazon’s own services, including its shopping website, Prime Video and Alexa, were also targeted, though the downtick showed less intensity last time around.
Epic Games-owned Fortnite, Clash Royale and Clash of Clans were also among the affected gaming platforms. Uber Uber.n’s competitor LeftLift.W was also knocked out in the United States.
In a post on X, Signal president Meredith Whittaker confirmed that the messaging app was also hit by the outage, although billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X, said his platform works.
Outages expose the risk of dependence on a handful of providers
In the UK, Lloyds Bank Lie.lt, Bank of Scotland and telecom service providers Vodafone Woodl and BTBTL were also experiencing problems, according to Down Detector’s UK website, as was the website of the UK tax, payments and customs authority HMRC.
Experts and academics said the issue highlights how everyday digital services are interconnected and are now dependent on too few global cloud providers, with a disruption wreaking havoc with business and daily life.
“The main reason for this problem is that all these big companies have relied on just one service,” said Nishant Sestri, director of research in the University of Surrey’s Department of Computer Science.
While there has been no indication yet of a possible cyberattack behind Monday’s outage, the scale of the disruption has fueled speculation.
“When something like this happens, the concern is that it’s a cyber incident,” said Rafe Pulling, director of threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm Sophos.
“AWS has a far-reaching and complex footprint, so any problem can cause a major upset.”
