Airlines across the country had to cancel more than 4,000 flights on Friday during a worldwide technology outage, and more than 33,000 flights were delayed.
The FAA said United, American, Delta and Allegiant were all grounded Friday morning, and many people were stranded at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). Several flights were delayed, some of them for the entire day.
A stranded traveler said she will miss her children’s show because her flight was delayed until Saturday.
“I’m frustrated [and] “A little nervous because I was supposed to be back for my kids’ show this afternoon, so I wasn’t too happy to miss it,” he told WRAL News.
“We are aware of a software issue affecting some airline partners this morning,” an RDU spokesperson said. “Travelers should contact their airline directly for specific flight information.”
United Airlines has issued waivers to help people change their travel plans. The airline said it expects disruptions throughout the day.
IT experts warn of risk of worldwide technology outage
Hospitals, public safety agencies and government services were also affected across North Carolina. By mid-afternoon, most services were back up and running in our area, but IT professionals worry that such outages could open up opportunities for hackers to steal information through phishing attempts.
Robert Reynolds, chief information officer for Orange County, suggests looking for up-to-date information about power outages from reputable news sources rather than information in emails.
“Bad actors will always use these types of events to try to hack computers by sending phishing emails,” Reynolds said. “When people get an email like that, their instinct is to click on it to see the latest news. That’s just human behavior. Again, the best defense is not to click on these types of emails.”
Kimberly Simon of Secure Network Administration, an IT and cybersecurity firm, said her organization supports about 30 to 50 companies at a time.
Simon said the reason Friday’s power outage was so big was because Mass Attack has more than 17% market share in the industry, and the outage could impact more than 1 in 6 businesses.
“Make sure you’re working with a variety of vendors so that not all your eggs are in one basket,” he explains.
NC hospitals and other businesses impacted
Hospitals across the state were also impacted by the global outage.
Cone Health in Greensboro is suspending non-emergency surgeries. Emergency services are still operating.
UNC Health said it has received reports of computer intrusions across its systems.
“At this point, our clinical team has been able to avoid any impact on patient care,” UNC Hospitals said.
UNC Hospitals said its IT team is working quickly to update the affected computers and expects to remain fully functional.
Duke Hospitals said it was also affected by the power outage.
“Duke University Health System sites were impacted by a global issue that occurred overnight affecting Microsoft Windows-based computer systems,” Duke Hospitals said. “Critical computer functions at our hospitals and clinics were impacted, resulting in delays in some patient services across the health system.
Duke Hospitals said its clinics remain open, and patients should plan to keep all scheduled appointments. If there are any changes to the schedule, Duke Hospitals said affected patients will be contacted by Duke Health.
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center-Cape Fear Valley Health (CFVH) says it has experienced some outpatient cancellations.
“We have immediately implemented established service shutdown procedures, which are currently underway,” CFVH said. “Our team continues to assess and address any issues that arise to ensure minimal disruption to our services. At this time, inpatient and outpatient surgeries continue to operate as scheduled.”
WakeMed said it was not affected by the outage because it does not use CrowdStrike.
WRAL News also received reports that gas stations are not accepting credit cards. If you need to fill up this morning, you may want to bring cash just in case.
DMV offices across the state were affected by the outage, but services were back online Friday afternoon.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office warns of phishing scam linked to global power outage
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says criminals are taking advantage of the power outage and sending out phishing emails.
“People should be extra cautious when clicking on links or images in or attached to emails, especially if they are not expecting the message or if they do not recognize the sender,” the sheriff’s office told WRAL News.
You can follow these steps to report a phishing email or text message:
- If you receive a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org.
- If you get a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726).
- Report phishing attempts to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
