Microsoft has confirmed that its Azure cloud services are once again operating normally after a disruption linked to damage to several undersea cables in the Red Sea.
Azure services resume normal operations
The technology giant said on Saturday that it was no longer detecting issues across its platform, following earlier warnings that some customers could face higher latency. According to an update on the company’s service status page, the disruption had particularly affected data traffic moving between Asia and Europe through the Middle East.
Damage to subsea cables and mitigation efforts
While Microsoft did not specify how the subsea cables were damaged, the firm explained that its engineering teams had been actively working to reroute traffic and minimise delays. “Undersea fibre cuts can take time to repair, as such we will continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimise routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime,” the company said in a prior statement.
The Red Sea is considered one of the world’s most important digital corridors, linking Europe with Africa and Asia through Egypt. Restoring connectivity in the region can be a complex process, made more difficult by ongoing instability and security risks. Shipping routes in the area have faced repeated attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, further complicating cable repair operations.
Despite the challenges, Microsoft now reports that its services have returned to stable conditions, although monitoring and optimisation efforts will continue as repairs to the affected infrastructure are undertaken.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is stepping up its cybersecurity measures by beginning the second phase of mandatory multifactor authentication (MFA) enforcement for Azure users from 1 October 2025.
The move follows the company’s research showing that MFA can prevent more than 99 per cent of account compromise attempts, making it one of the most effective defences against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
In August 2024, Microsoft announced its plan to introduce compulsory MFA for Azure Public Cloud sign-ins, rolling out the requirement in phases to give customers time to adapt. The first phase, covering access to the Azure Portal, Microsoft Entra admin centre and Intune admin centre, reached full implementation across all Azure tenants in March 2025.
The second phase will now extend MFA enforcement to Azure Resource Manager operations carried out through a range of clients, including the Azure CLI, PowerShell, REST APIs, SDK libraries, the Azure Mobile App and Infrastructure as Code tools. Deployment will be managed gradually via Azure Policy, in line with Microsoft’s “safe deployment practices”.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)