The Social Security Administration closed its field offices on Friday due to a global IT outage roiling companies and governments across the world.
In an alert posted to its website, SSA notified the public about the closures, but did not give a timeline for when offices or services would be restored.
“Due to widespread IT outages due to the global Microsoft and Crowdstrike issues, local Social Security offices are closed to the public today,” SSA wrote. “Our phone line – 800-772-1213 – remains open as are most online services at ssa.gov. We appreciate your patience while we work to restore services as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, an SSA spokeswoman told Federal News Network that employees who are able to telework are doing so. “SSA is in the process of bringing impacted personnel back online,” she added.
The IT outage is linked to a flawed software update released by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The defect affects computers running Microsoft Windows, effectively shutting them down with what’s referred to as the “blue screen of death.” Crowdstrike says the incident is “not a security incident or cyberattack.” The company also reports that a fix has been deployed.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also appears to be affected by the outage. A notice on USCIS’s E-Verify website states that “customers calling E-Verify are experiencing long wait times” because “the worldwide Microsoft outage is impacting phone support.” USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is responsible for overseeing the security of systems across the federal civilian executive branch, said it is working with Crowdstrike, as well as federal, state, local and critical infrastructure partners, “to fully assess and address these issues.”
“Of note, CISA has observed threat actors taking advantage of this incident for phishing and other malicious activity,” the cyber agency wrote in an alert today. “CISA urges organizations and individuals to remain vigilant and only follow instructions from legitimate sources. CISA recommends organizations to remind their employees to avoid clicking on phishing emails or suspicious links.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s cybersecurity, IT and government innovation subcommittee, said the panel has requested briefings on the outage from Crowdstrike, Microsoft and CISA .
“We’re also trying to determine the breadth of impact, especially across the federal government at this time,” Mace posted on X Friday afternoon.
While the outage has forced airlines to cancel and delay thousands of flights, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said TSA has not been directly affected by the IT incident.
“TSA is monitoring the IT system issues throughout the transportation system in partnership with stakeholders and other agencies,” the spokeswoman told FNN. “There has not been any impact to TSA operations.”
In posts on X, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with U.S. airlines as they work to resume operations.
“Currently FAA operations are not impacted by the global IT issue,” the FAA posted. “We continue to monitor the situation closely.”
Meanwhile, Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman said the VA is “not aware of any impact on health care operations or any adverse impact on veterans who get their care from VA.”
“We will continue to monitor this situation, and we encourage any Veterans who need support – including those who may be impacted by challenges at non-VA health care facilities – to call 1-800-MYVA411 or visit their local VA medical center for assistance,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement. “We are standing by and ready to help.”
This is an evolving story, and we will continue to update it.
(With additional reporting from Jory Heckman)
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