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Why Did Half the Internet Break Yesterday? The Critical Flaw Behind the Big AWS Crash Explained.
On October 20, 2025, a problem at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Virginia stopped a large part of the internet from working. Many popular apps and websites suddenly went offline. This event showed how much of the digital world depends on a single company’s infrastructure. When a key piece of AWS failed, it created a massive ripple effect.
Which Services Stopped Working?
The outage was not limited to just Amazon’s own website. Because thousands of companies use AWS to run their online services, the failure in Virginia impacted users globally. People noticed problems with messaging, work software, and entertainment platforms.
- Communication Apps: Signal messenger experienced widespread issues. Users could not send or receive messages properly, even though the app’s status page initially showed no problems.
- Workplace Tools: Atlassian services, which include popular ticket and project management systems like Jira, were unavailable. This halted productivity for many businesses.
- Design Software: Autodesk software users could not get their licenses verified. The servers that check for valid licenses were unreachable, locking people out of their programs.
- Gaming and Entertainment: Major platforms like the PlayStation Network, Xbox, Roblox, and EPIC Games were also affected, preventing users from playing online.
Understanding the Single Point of Failure
This incident highlights a critical risk in modern technology known as a single point of failure. Think of it like a single bridge that provides the only way into a city. If that one bridge collapses, no one can get in or out. Many companies build their entire online operations on top of AWS. They trust AWS to keep their services running.
The problem occurred in the US-EAST-1 region, one of Amazon’s largest and most important data center hubs. An issue with the Domain Name System (DNS), which acts like the internet’s address book, prevented computers from connecting to Amazon’s services. When this system failed, it took down every service that relied on it.
This event serves as a clear lesson. While using large cloud providers like AWS is efficient, it also means that one company’s technical problem can become everyone’s problem. It shows the interconnected, and sometimes fragile, nature of the internet we use every day.