THE worldwide IT outage has impacted Jersey, with some GP appointments being affected and several shops only accepting cash.
Businesses and institutions around the globe have been been knocked offline following the outage, believed to have been caused by a faulty update to widely used cybersecurity software.
Banks, airlines, train companies, supermarkets and other major institutions have reported computer issues disrupting services, while many businesses have been left unable to take digital payments.
In an update at 11.15am, Jersey’s government said:
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Emergency services responses are unaffected. In an emergency, please call 999, as usual
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The Hospital remains open and patients are advised to attend appointments as normal
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GPs have asked us to communicate that they would like patients to attend as normal unless otherwise advised
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Customer and Local Services is open
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Jersey Schools SIMS student registration system is affected but schools are open as normal
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Online ID systems such as JerseyMe and Yoti are currently unaffected
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Online tax forms are currently unaffected
Gatwick Airport has been affected and has warned passengers to expect delays.
In a statement, Ports of Jersey said: “The global IT outage is affecting many organisations across the world.
“No flights have yet been affected in Jersey, but a knock-on effect on inbound flights is possible as some airports are manually checking paper boarding cards.
“We’re continuing to monitor any impact on inbound flights, and have updated digital screens around the Airport with information.
“Harbour operations are unaffected.”
In a more recent update, Ports added that: “World Duty Free has now reopened at the airport, selling liquor and cigarettes and taking cash only.
“There are two cashpoint machines nearby (between World Duty Free and the gates) for anyone not carrying cash.”
In an update, Matt Palmer, director of the Jersey Cyber Security Centre (JCSC) said two cyber incidents had caused “widespread disruption on a global scale”.
He explained: “An issue with Microsoft Azure/Microsoft 365 means that many businesses lost access to the services they need to run effectively. This has now been resolved by Microsoft, but there are ongoing effects.
“A separate issue with an update to Cloudstrike (a widely-used IT security software) has left affected machines non-functional. There is a way to fix this issue, but it will take some time to implement.”
Mr Palmer continued: “Both of these issues might seem far removed from our day-to-day lives, but we know they are affecting people in Jersey. Islanders who are travelling might experience disruptions at UK or other off-Island airports. Some on-Island GP surgeries and pharmacies are affected, and people attending today may experience delays or disruption.”
He urged Islanders to be “patient”, adding that there are “dozens of people working hard to assess and resolve this issue”.
He added: “Staff in affected businesses will be doing their best to deal with the disruptions.
“JCSC is working closely with the Government of Jersey and other agencies. JCSC’s systems are unaffected, so we are still available to offer advice and guidance, either by phone (01534 500 050) or by email (incidentreports@jcsc.je).”
