NCSC warns UK businesses of scams following global Microsoft outage

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning following the global Microsoft outage, urging businesses to watch out for scam calls and hackers impersonating IT helpdesks.

In a post on X on Friday (13 November), the UK’s cyber security authority warned: “In the wake of the global Microsoft outage, the NCSC is recommending that everyone exercises caution around unexpected calls and messages, especially those containing links.”

The warning comes as businesses, government departments, police forces and the NHS continue to experience disruption to Microsoft services, including Teams and Outlook.

Microsoft has said there is no indication the outage was caused by cyber activity, saying earlier today: “As of now, we are not aware of any malicious activity that is causing this incident.”

In the wake of the global Microsoft outage, the NCSC is recommending that everyone exercises caution around unexpected calls and messages, especially those containing links. For advice on how to recognise & report suspicious messages, websites & calls⬇️ https://t.co/xxleJhwiDT https://t.co/8ECYRLsQwz

— NCSC UK (@NCSC) November 13, 2026

Why businesses should be on alert

The NCSC’s warning follows similar alerts from cyber security authorities and financial institutions overseas amid concerns that criminals could exploit the widespread disruption.

For UK businesses, the immediate concern is that employees may be scammed by unexpected IT support calls or messages while their usual systems are unavailable.

What should UK businesses do?

The NCSC urges people to be on the lookout for scams, and not to click on suspicious links.

In advice on its website, it writes: “If you have any doubts about a message, contact the organisation directly. Don’t use the numbers or address in the message – use the details from their official website.”

What do we know about the Microsoft outage?

The problems began on 12 November with disruption to Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft 365 services.

Monitoring website Downdetector first showed a spike in users reporting problems with Microsoft Teams in the UK at around 6.15pm.

Since then, the outage has spread across multiple regions, including UK police forces, government departments, NHS and businesses. Millions of people are affected.

An AI expert has called today’s global Microsoft outage a “real red letter day”.

Speaking to Sky News, Andrew Gill said: “Companies themselves need to say, ‘we are so reliant on this email platform. What is our Plan B?’”

The UK Government has said a “robust contingency plan” is being put in place across Whitehall to limit the impact of Microsoft’s technical difficulties on public services.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio: “We’ve already been in touch with Microsoft and the dialogue between our cyber resilience teams across government and Microsoft continues. I want to see this fixed, it is on Microsoft to do so.”