Recent internet outages have significantly disrupted global connectivity, affecting several widely-used applications and websites. Notable platforms like Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Duolingo, and Canva reported issues as tracked by the Downdetector service. The problems appeared to initiate around 8 AM BST, which corresponds to midnight PT.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Impact
The underlying cause of these disruptions seems to be linked with Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS is a crucial infrastructure provider that supports much of the internet’s framework. The company noted an increase in error rates and delays across multiple services, as stated on its service status page.
AWS offers various services, enabling businesses to rent server space and computing power essential for operating their applications and websites. Given its extensive influence, any problems at AWS can have widespread repercussions, impacting numerous online services seemingly unrelated to Amazon.
Financial Background of AWS
- AWS generated $108 billion in revenue last year.
- It accounts for a significant portion of Amazon’s overall profits.
- It remains the world’s leading cloud services provider.
Services Affected by the Outage
Below is a list of services experiencing outages during this incident:
- Snapchat
- Roblox
- Fortnite
- Duolingo
- Canva
- Amazon Music
- Prime Video
- HMRC (UK’s tax authority)
- Coinbase
- Vodafone
- PlayStation
- Clash Royale
- Pokémon Go
- Wordle
- My Fitness Pal
- Xero
- Life360
- Clash of Clans
Current Status Updates
As of now, updates from Amazon indicate that the issues originate from their facilities in Northern Virginia. Specifically, Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud services have been reported as affected.
The widespread nature of the outage is reflected in the spike in complaints documented by Downdetector. Their tracking system illustrates the extent of the disruption occurring across various platforms.
