Google Cloud outage hits banks, property sites and more
What's the story
A major internet outage has affected several popular websites and apps in the UK. The disruption has hit services like Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Screwfix, and DPD. According to Down Detector, a website that tracks such issues, online bank Revolut is particularly hard hit with users unable to access the app or make payments.
Outage origin
Google Cloud facing issues in western Europe
The outage has been linked to a problem with Google Cloud, which provides the internet infrastructure for many other services.
The tech giant confirmed on its service status website that it was facing issues with its facilities in Western Europe.
It acknowledged "experiencing an issue with multiple services" and apologized to "all who are affected by the disruption."
Impact assessment
No immediate workaround for ongoing issues
Google has confirmed that there is no immediate workaround for the ongoing issues.
This incident is part of a larger trend where internet infrastructure companies face problems, leading to widespread outages across a range of seemingly unrelated websites and apps.
Similar incidents have been witnessed in recent years with Cloudflare and Amazon Web Services, both of which provide similar tools as Google Cloud.
Service dependency
Understanding the impact of cloud service outages
Cloud service companies like Google Cloud provide essential networking and storage services that enable users to access websites over the internet.
While these services are cost-effective, they also create a dependency on a small number of companies.
An outage at any of these firms can lead to widespread disruptions across many seemingly unrelated websites and apps.