Countywide

Fairfax County monitoring global IT outage, DMV services halted

By Angela Woolsey
A Microsoft laptop updating its operating system (via Clint Patterson on Unsplash)

A technical issue stemming from a cybersecurity update has thrown computer systems around the world into chaos, but Fairfax County appears to have been largely spared.

The county government says it’s monitoring the disruptions caused by a deficient software update sent to Microsoft Windows systems by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, though only “a very small number” of its agencies use the platform through third-party vendors.

“Fairfax County Government does not anticipate any significant impact on county systems or disruption in services and continues to monitor the situation closely,” Fairfax County said in a statement posted on its website at 10:15 a.m. “We will provide further updates if necessary, as the situation evolves.”

Fairfax City reported that DMV Select and treasurer’s office services were “temporarily unavailable.” The treasurer’s office, which handles taxes, resumed services by 11 a.m.

Citing the “global IT outage,” the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has closed its customer service centers, and online services also remain unavailable, as of 11:15 a.m.

Dominion Energy also says its customer service call centers have been affected by the outage, rendering them unable to receive calls. The utility advises anyone who needs assistance to instead use its website or mobile app.

According to news reports, the global technology outage has affected everything from travel to retailers and hospital appointment systems. United, American and Delta have grounded flights, and some localities have reported disruptions to their 911 call centers.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has had “no significant impact or disruption in services,” a spokesperson told FFXnow.

Dulles International Airport says it remains open and operational, but the overnight outage affected computer systems that handle flight schedules.

“Passengers should check with their airline for the latest flight status,” the airport said on its website.

Metro announced that its website and internal systems had been affected, initially stating that train and bus service would be delayed. However, the transit agency later shared in a 5:45 a.m. update that train service had started on time at 5 a.m., though a few bus routes were delayed “due to operator availability” that wasn’t related to the outage.

At 9:30 a.m., Metro reported that its website and trip planning application were back online, while General Manager Randy Clarke disputed social media posts that claimed service had been suspended.

“Great example of why people can’t always believe what they read on twitter,” he said in a tweet. “Metro is running normal service. It’s a disservice to the team’s hard work delivering service despite this global IT issue and to customers who rely on the service.”

Over in Montgomery County, district and circuit courts have closed for the day due to internet issues, and some health systems in the D.C. region have been affected.

In a banner on its website, Inova Health Systems says all of its sites “are open and serving patients,” but some of its technology systems were affected.

“As patient safety is our top priority, we have taken measures to limit the impact to patient care while we work to fully restore standard operations,” Inova said.

In a statement released this morning (Friday), Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the state conducted an overnight assessment to identify impacts to the functionality of its agencies and departments.

Critical health and safety systems, including 911 call systems and transportation infrastructure, are operational. However, airlines continue to experience significant disruptions. The assessment determined that government administrative functions are experiencing disruptions, and we are coordinating with local, regional and federal authorities and private sector critical infrastructure partners in order to reestablish normal operations. As a result of the administrative disturbances, Virginians may experience delays and we ask everyone to remain patient as we work to remedy and reestablish the high standards that Virginians deserve.

Photo via Clint Patterson on Unsplash

About the Author

  • Angela Woolsey is the site editor for FFXnow. A graduate of George Mason University, she worked as a general assignment reporter for the Fairfax County Times before joining Local News Now as the Tysons Reporter editor in 2020.