Poland warns of 'digital dependence' amid global Microsoft outage

Poland's digital affairs minister said on Friday that a major Microsoft outage affecting organisations in more than 70 countries showed the risks of depending on global technology companies.

Microsoft Teams logo, binary code and the words “Global Outage” are seen in an illustration taken on November 13.

Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

"This is a clear illustration of the problems of digital dependence on global corporations," Krzysztof Gawkowski wrote on X.

Gawkowski, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, said using a wider range of suppliers and open-source software could help limit the risk.

Poland's Ministry of Digital Affairs is working on introducing such tools in public administration, and a competition to pilot them in local government is due to begin soon, Gawkowski said.

Under the initiative, solutions that prove effective would eventually be made available across the public administration system.

Gawkowski said open-source software would not only cut costs but also strengthen the state's "digital sovereignty."

Od wczoraj trwa poważna awaria usług firmy Microsoft, która powoduje zakłócenia w pracy niezliczonych instytucji w ponad 70 krajach. To wyraźna ilustracja problemów z cyfrowym uzależnieniem od globalnych korporacji. Zróżnicowanie dostawców i oparcie się na rozwiązaniach otwartych pozwala na ograniczenie takich ryzyk. Dlatego w Ministerstwie Cyfryzacji pracujemy nad wdrażaniem rozwiązań typu open source w administracji publicznej. Wczoraj organizowaliśmy właśnie o tym Dzień Otwartych Technologii. W Strategii Cyfryzacji zarysowaliśmy jasny plan, a już niedługo rozpoczniemy konkurs na pilotażowe wdrożenia open source software w JST. W przyszłości będziemy centralnie udostępniać zweryfikowane rozwiązania dla całej administracji. To nie tylko ogromne oszczędności, ale też realne zwiększanie cyfrowej suwerenności!

— Krzysztof Gawkowski (@KGawkowski) November 13, 2026

The outage, which began on Thursday, left millions of people around the world without access to Outlook email, Teams and other core tools used in everyday office work.

Banks, government bodies and courts in several countries were affected.

Downdetector, a site that monitors outages, said reports of problems reached 74 states and territories within about an hour.

In the United States, some employees were sent home early on Thursday.

In Australia, businesses could not print invoices and some schools were unable to hold online classes on Friday.

Microsoft first reported it was seeing "positive results" from its repair efforts, but several hours later said there had been no lasting improvement.

Banks, universities and other institutions have warned users to beware of fake IT-support offers, as scammers often exploit such disruptions.

(ał/gs)

Source: PAP