Many of the world's most popular apps and websites suddenly stopped working properly on Monday morning in what appears to be a major internet outage affecting services globally.
According to tracking website Down Detector, platforms including Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Duolingo, and Canva began experiencing significant disruptions around 8am UK time (midnight Pacific time).
Amazon Web Services at the Center of the Problem
The widespread issues appear to stem from problems at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing platform that provides critical infrastructure for much of the modern internet.
Amazon confirmed on its service status page that it was experiencing "increased error rates" and delays with "multiple AWS services." The company specifically identified issues at its facilities in North Virginia affecting Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud services.
AWS provides cloud infrastructure that allows companies to rent computing power and storage to run their applications and websites. As the world's leading provider of such services, any disruption to AWS can quickly cascade across the internet, affecting seemingly unrelated platforms.
Widespread Impact Across Multiple Sectors
The outage has affected a diverse range of services beyond gaming and social media. Down Detector reported problems with financial services like Coinbase, productivity tools like Canva and Xero, fitness apps like MyFitnessPal, and even government services including the UK's tax authority HMRC.
Other affected services include Ring security systems, Life360, Amazon's own platforms (Amazon.com, Prime Video, and Amazon Music), PlayStation Network, Pokémon Go, Wordle, and telecommunications provider Vodafone.
The sudden nature of the outage was evident on Down Detector's monitoring system, which showed a dramatic spike in user reports across multiple platforms beginning around the same time.
This incident highlights the interconnected nature of today's internet infrastructure and the potential vulnerabilities created when numerous services rely on a single provider. AWS generated $108 billion in revenue last year and now accounts for the majority of Amazon's profits.
BenriNews will continue to monitor this developing situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.
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