Microsoft Probes Teams, Outlook Outage as Thousands of Users Report Disruption

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft France headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft France headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Probes Teams, Outlook Outage as Thousands of Users Report Disruption

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft France headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft France headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)

Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it was investigating a networking issue that impacted multiple services including Teams and Outlook, with outage reports saying the platforms were down for thousands of users globally.

Microsoft did not disclose the number of users affected by the disruption, but data from outage tracking website Downdetector showed more than 3,900 incidents in India and over 900 in Japan. Outage reports also spiked in Australia, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

The Downdetector site tracks outages by collating status reports from sources including user-submitted errors on its platform.

"We've identified a potential networking issue and are reviewing telemetry to determine the next troubleshooting steps," Microsoft said in a tweet.

Microsoft's cloud unit Azure also tweeted about the networking issue, and said that a subset of users were experiencing problems with the platform.

During the outage, most users were unable to exchange messages, join calls or use any features of Teams application. Many users took to Twitter to share updates about the service disruption, with #MicrosoftTeams trending as a hashtag on the social media site.

Microsoft Teams, used by more than 280 million people globally, forms an integral part of daily operations for businesses and schools, which use the service to make calls, schedule meetings and organize their workflow.

Among the other services affected were Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, according to the company's status page.



OpenAI Finds More Chinese Groups Using ChatGPT for Malicious Purposes

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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OpenAI Finds More Chinese Groups Using ChatGPT for Malicious Purposes

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday.

While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based startup said, according to Reuters.

Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio.

OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms.

In one example, OpenAI banned ChatGPT accounts that generated social media posts on political and geopolitical topics relevant to China, including criticism of a Taiwan-centric video game, false accusations against a Pakistani activist, and content related to the closure of USAID.

Some content also criticized US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, generating X posts, such as "Tariffs make imported goods outrageously expensive, yet the government splurges on overseas aid. Who's supposed to keep eating?".

In another example, China-linked threat actors used AI to support various phases of their cyber operations, including open-source research, script modification, troubleshooting system configurations, and development of tools for password brute forcing and social media automation.

A third example OpenAI found was a China-origin influence operation that generated polarized social media content supporting both sides of divisive topics within US political discourse, including text and AI-generated profile images.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on OpenAI's findings.

OpenAI has cemented its position as one of the world's most valuable private companies after announcing a $40 billion funding round valuing the company at $300 billion.