- CBC Toronto is working to figure out how the IT issue is affecting the GTA Friday morning. This story will be updated with the latest information as we gather it.
Porter Airlines has cancelled flights until noon as Toronto grapples with the effects of a worldwide IT issue.
The city’s 911 and paramedic services are working as they should, and public transit appears to be running as normal.
However, major banks and media outlets have had their services interrupted — although CBC Radio’s Metro Morning is still on the air if you want to tune in for live updates.
So what’s causing the problems? According to an alert sent by global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike to its clients and reviewed by Reuters, the company’s Falcon Sensor software is causing Microsoft Windows to crash and display a blue screen, known informally as the “blue screen of death.”
Porter’s not the only airline that may be affected. A spokesperson from Toronto’s Pearson Airport told CBC News the impacts varied “airline to airline,” with Air Canada’s services working but several American airlines seeing disruptions.
“Passengers cannot be rebooked while systems are offline. The rebooking process will take a period of time, with new flights confirmed over a number of days due to high passenger volume,” Porter said in a statement.
“Further delays and cancellations are possible,” it warned.
More to come.