Washington: A massive Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage on Monday brought large parts of the internet to a halt. Apps, websites and online tools used by millions of people stopped working. The hours-long breakdown revealed how dependent modern life is on cloud infrastructure.
The outage began around 07:11 GMT at one of AWS’s main data centres in Virginia, the company’s oldest and largest site. A technical update to DynamoDB, a cloud database service, caused the problem. The update led to an error in the Domain Name System, which directs apps to the correct server addresses. Apps could no longer connect to DynamoDB’s Application Programming Interface (API).
As a result, other AWS services began failing. A total of 113 services were affected. By 10:11 GMT, Amazon reported that operations had returned to normal, though a backlog of messages would be processed over the following hours. Downdetector, which tracks internet outages, showed continued problems with platforms such as OpenAI, ESPN and Apple Music.
Cloud systems store and run data or programmes over the internet instead of on personal devices. AWS allows companies to rent computing power and storage. DynamoDB, one of its core services, stores critical information such as customer records. Cloud outages have become more noticeable as more companies rely on them daily.
The disruption affected multiple sectors, but the incident was part of the risks tech companies face. AWS controls roughly 30 percent of the cloud market, and users are unlikely to switch providers.
The outage impacted a wide range of apps and services. Snapchat, Pinterest, Apple TV, WhatsApp, Signal, Zoom, Slack, Roblox, Fortnite, Xbox, Starbucks and Etsy were all affected. Financial apps such as Venmo in the United States experienced problems.
Ring doorbells, Alexa speakers, the Amazon website and Kindle downloads also failed.
Duolingo, Canva and media outlets, including the Associated Press, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported errors.
Coinbase, Delta Airlines, United Airlines and AI firm Perplexity also faced issues.
The reason so many services went offline simultaneously is that thousands of companies rely on AWS for storage, databases or web hosting. Such outages often spark fears of cyberattacks, but most are caused by human error rather than malicious activity.
AWS engineers responded immediately, working on multiple parallel paths to restore service. The company said the main issue had been resolved, though minor delays continued for some users. AWS promised to release a detailed post-event summary explaining the outage.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
