Paris Olympics 2024: Global tech outage affects IT operations ahead of the event

The Paris Olympics 2024 has seen its IT operations impacted by the global cyber outage that has affected flights, banks, and companies around the world, the Games' organizers said on Friday. However, they clarified that the impact was minimal and did not affect the ticketing system. The Paris Olympics 2024 is scheduled to start on July 26.

"At this point, the impacts are limited and concern in particular the delivery of uniforms and accreditations," the Paris 2024 organising committee said in a statement (via Reuters).

"Paris 2024's ticketing systems have been unaffected. The operations around the preparation of venues is continuing normally, and work schedules are not at risk. The torch relay is continuing along its route as normal."

Sky Sports New Zealand journalist Wilson Catton talked to Reuters about the issues he faced in getting his accreditation validated in Paris. He said:

"I've arrived in Paris this morning and went to get my accreditation validated and have been told no. They can't issue any accreditation or anything for I don't know how long."

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Microsoft cyber outage behind Paris Olympics 2024 IT disruptions

The global cyber outage. which has impacted the Paris Olympics 2024 operations, originated from Microsoft, possibly due to a failure of the Falcon sensor of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides security solutions for Microsoft’s flagship Windows OS.

Several experts, including Israel’s Cyber Directorate, have attributed the outage to CrowdStrike, who have noted the issue.

“CrowdStrike is aware of the reports of crashes on Microsoft ports related to the Falcon sensor,” the firm’s customer service said (via Yahoo).

Microsoft also acknowledged the incident on the social media platform X, adding that “Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress.”

However, the outage, which has impacted a wide range of services from Britain’s National Health Service to Sky News, has continued for hours.

Adding further woes to Olympic fans, the Parisian airports at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly were affected by the outage as the computers at other airports were down, causing delays and technical problems in flights and check-ins.

“This situation has an impact on the operations of airlines at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports: delays in check-in, delays and temporary suspension of some flights. Our teams are mobilized to orient and assist passengers,” the airport authorities said in a statement (via AP).