Massive outage disrupts Amazon websites, online services worldwide

Websites and online services around the world began to recover early Monday morning after a major disruption at Amazon Web Services (AWS) temporarily took down many popular platforms, reported Xinhua.

AWS, a leading cloud computing provider that powers much of the internet, reported an outage caused by a malfunction in one of its key database systems, DynamoDB. The incident left millions of users unable to access services. Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, also confirmed it was offline due to the AWS failure. The Associated Press said it switched to its "AP Backup" system to continue delivering breaking news.

Users of Snapchat reported missing friends lists and streaks, while companies like United Airlines, T-Mobile, and the UK's HM Revenue and Customs website also faced accessibility problems.

Web outage monitor Downdetector logged about 6.5 million outage reports as more than 1,000 websites worldwide went down.

The disruption, which began at 12:11 a.m. Eastern Time (0411 GMT), affected 14 AWS services in the company's northern Virginia data center, the company said.

By 6:35 a.m. Eastern Time (1035 GMT), the database issue had been "fully mitigated," though residual delays might persist, it said.

The company noted that similar outages had occurred in 2023 and during an hourslong disruption in 2021. It underlined the vulnerability of global services dependent on cloud infrastructure, according to media reports.