A significant worldwide internet network has experienced a disruption in service. Cloudflare, a key internet infrastructure company, has encountered technical issues, leading to service disruptions on various prominent websites like Bet365, Wikipedia, Uber, Uber Eats, and Paddy Power. Numerous users in the UK and the US faced connectivity problems, as reported on Downdetector, a platform that tracks online service interruptions.
The troubles began around 6.30pm GMT on Friday, February 20, with Cloudflare acknowledging the issues and initiating an investigation into the service and network disruptions. Downdetector’s map illustrates ongoing outages affecting users across the UK.
Cloudflare is a hosting platform for several websites, including Bet365, UberEats, Steam, and SkyBet. The company confirmed the investigation into the service disruptions, warning users of potential errors or delays in accessing their network or services.
This incident marks a recurrence of service interruptions for Cloudflare, with previous outages documented in December and November. Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at ESET, highlighted the impact of such outages, emphasizing the vulnerability of relying on a single network for global internet traffic routing.
Reports from Downdetector indicate that US users encountered issues with services like Uber Eats, Workday, and Bet365 around 1.30pm EDT (6.30pm GMT), with a significant number of reports logged for Uber Eats by 1.40pm. Cloudflare, known for enhancing website speed and security, serves a wide range of online platforms, including major players like X, Linkedin, and Zoom, along with numerous smaller websites and blogs.
The outage persisted in the UK, with over 5,000 user reports of Bet365 issues by 6.57pm and additional reports of Cloudflare problems at 7.02pm. Cloudflare’s services are utilized by approximately 20% of all websites globally, underscoring its widespread impact on online connectivity.
