Microsoft Azure Services Status: Internet services across India, Pakistan, and parts of the Middle East experienced major disruptions after subsea cable systems in the Red Sea were damaged, according to internet observatory NetBlocks. The outage underscores the fragility of global digital infrastructure, which relies heavily on undersea cables for connectivity. However, the concerns were raised over possible sabotage amid ongoing conflict in the region, it was not immediately clear what caused the incident.
The impact of the outage was not limited to South Asia. Users in the United Arab Emirates also reported difficulties in accessing online services, particularly those using Etisalat and Du networks. There are concerns that Yemen’s Houthi rebels may have targeted the cables in the Red Sea as part of their campaign to pressure Israel to end the war on Hamas in Gaza. However, the Houthis have denied attacking the cables in the past.
It is important to note that the Red Sea is a key telecom corridor connecting Europe with Africa and Asia through Egypt. But repairing subsea cables there is difficult, especially with Yemen’s Houthis continuing to target vessels in the area.
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Microsoft Update On Azure Services
Global technology company Microsoft stated on its status page that users in the Middle East ‘may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea,’ though internet traffic outside the region remained unaffected. The company confirmed that its cloud computing platform, Azure, was among the services affected by the incident. Now, Tech Giant has confirmed that it has resolved issues with its Azure cloud platform after multiple subsea cables in the Red Sea were cut.
Meanwhile, NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog, confirmed that multiple subsea cable outages in the Red Sea had disrupted connectivity in several countries, including India and Pakistan.
The issues were linked to the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SMW4) and India–Middle East–Western Europe (IMEWE) cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Notably, the Red Sea region is a major hub for undersea fibre-optic cables that carry a significant portion of global internet traffic. (Also Read: Meta Hiring US-Based Contractors To Build Hindi AI Chatbots For India; Check Eligibility Criteria And Per Hour Income)
According to experts, disruptions within these networks can create continent-wide ripple effects, impacting businesses, cloud services, and individual users. The stability of these critical infrastructure systems is increasingly urgent due to the growing reliance on cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.
