Global Websites Affected by Massive AWS Outage
A widespread disruption in Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Monday caused global outages for major websites and applications including Snapchat, Reddit, Roblox, Lloyds Bank, and Halifax.
The outage, which began around 07:00 BST, left millions of users unable to access essential services and highlighted the vulnerability of the internet’s reliance on a few dominant cloud providers.
According to Downdetector, a global platform outage tracker, user reports of website failures surged to over 6.5 million within hours of the incident.
While Amazon announced that its systems were largely recovered by midday, experts say the disruption exposed the risks of heavy dependence on centralized infrastructure.
AWS Confirms Recovery but Root Cause Unclear
Amazon acknowledged the outage in an update posted on its official service status page, confirming that it stemmed from issues in its US-EAST-1 region, one of its largest data hubs.
The problem was “related to the DNS resolution of the DynamoDB API endpoint,” the company explained, but did not provide full technical details.
DNS (Domain Name System) acts like the internet’s address book — translating domain names into numerical IP addresses. Any malfunction in DNS systems can effectively break connections between users and online services.
By 11:00 BST, Amazon said that most affected services had been restored, though some users continued to experience intermittent delays across platforms that rely heavily on AWS servers.
Millions of Users Impacted Worldwide
The outage caused a ripple effect across more than 1,000 apps and websites, ranging from entertainment and gaming platforms to banking services.
Users reported problems with popular platforms like Fortnite, Duolingo, and Reddit, while online banking systems such as Lloyds and Halifax also suffered temporary downtime.
Downdetector said it recorded over four million problem reports within the first few hours, more than double the total number of issues typically logged in an entire weekday.
As more companies attempted to reconnect, reports peaked above six million, making it one of the largest internet disruptions of the year.
Experts Warn of Growing Cloud Dependence
Cybersecurity and internet infrastructure experts were quick to point out that the AWS disruption underscores the fragility of global digital infrastructure.
Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey said the incident showed “just how interdependent our systems are.”
“So many online services depend on third-party cloud providers,” Woodward explained. “Even the smallest human or technical error can create widespread and cascading failures.”
Similarly, Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, told the BBC that while the cloud offers scalability and efficiency, it also introduces massive single points of failure.
“Everyone has a bad day — today it was Amazon’s turn,” Prince said. “When one of the biggest cloud providers goes down, it drags much of the internet down with it.”
Analysts Call for Diversification and Regulation
Experts have urged businesses and governments to diversify their cloud infrastructure to reduce dependence on a handful of American tech giants.
Cori Crider, head of the Future of Technology Institute, compared the incident to “a bridge collapsing,” saying that it revealed “an essential part of the economy falling apart.”
Crider noted that Amazon, Microsoft, and Google currently dominate about 70% of global cloud computing, a level of concentration she called “unsustainable.”
“When such a small number of providers control the backbone of the internet, a single outage can cripple global operations,” she said.
She also suggested that governments consider regulatory measures and encourage local cloud service providers to enhance digital resilience.
Broader Implications for Business and Security
The AWS disruption disrupted not only entertainment and communication platforms but also critical services such as online banking, e-commerce, and corporate systems.
For many companies, this outage resulted in lost revenue, communication breakdowns, and disrupted customer access.
Analysts argue that this incident should serve as a wake-up call for organizations to adopt multi-cloud strategies, ensuring that operations can continue if one provider experiences downtime.
It also highlights the national security implications of depending too heavily on a few foreign tech corporations for essential online services.
Amazon Faces Renewed Scrutiny
While AWS has since stabilized its systems, the outage has reignited debate over cloud monopolies and internet resilience.
Lawmakers and digital analysts have called for greater transparency from cloud providers on outage causes, as well as stricter regulatory oversight to prevent future large-scale disruptions.
As the digital economy continues to expand, experts warn that without broader distribution of infrastructure, the next outage could be even more damaging — affecting not just social media and gaming but also critical national and financial networks.
