Amazon traces DNS fault behind major internet outage, restoration still underway

Amazon's October 2025 DNS outage, traced to DynamoDB API DNS resolution failures in its US-EAST-1 region, exposed significant concentration risks in the cloud market, impacting over 70 AWS services and major platforms like Snapchat, Fortnite, and Coinbase[1][2]. This incident underscores vulnerabilities in relying heavily on AWS's infrastructure, potentially accelerating shifts by enterprises toward multi-cloud strategies and boosting competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud eager to capitalize on AWS's downtime. Analysts suggest that such outages could prompt customers to diversify cloud providers to mitigate risk, signaling a competitive landscape increasingly influenced by reliability and resilience considerations.

In the wake of the major internet outage caused by a DNS fault in Amazon Web Services (AWS), regulatory bodies have not yet issued specific statements regarding any potential investigations or actions. However, the outage has raised concerns about the reliance on cloud services and the potential for future disruptions. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has announced plans to hold hearings to examine the impact of such outages on critical infrastructure and consumer services, although no date has been set.

Amazon traced the major internet outage to a DNS resolution fault affecting DynamoDB API endpoints in the US-EAST-1 (Northern Virginia) region, causing widespread service disruptions across AWS-dependent platforms including websites, financial services, and apps like Fortnite and Snapchat. The DNS issue was fully mitigated by 2:24 AM PDT on October 20, but restoration continued through gradual throttling of operations such as EC2 instance launches, with full service normalization achieved by 3:01 PM PDT the same day[1][2][3]. This incident highlights the critical vulnerability of internet infrastructure relying heavily on centralized cloud DNS services, where even brief resolution failures cascade into extensive outages impacting millions of users globally.

Amazon traced the major internet outage on October 20, 2025, to DNS resolution failures specifically affecting DynamoDB’s API endpoints in the US-EAST-1 region, which cascaded across more than 70 AWS services and disrupted platforms like Snapchat, Fortnite, and banking applications[1][2]. Experts noted this incident underscores how critical DNS is to cloud infrastructure, with one analysis explaining that DNS failures can make fully operational servers effectively unreachable, amplifying outage impact[1]. Industry opinion emphasizes the need for enhanced DNS resilience and diversified dependencies given the disproportionate effect such failures cause across interconnected services[1][2].

Following Amazon's DNS fault behind the major AWS outage on October 20, 2025, market reactions were mixed but overall cautious. While some investors expressed concerns about AWS's reliability, Amazon’s stock showed resilience, reflecting confidence in its dominant 37% global cloud market share; specific price movements were moderate as analysts noted the high switching costs for businesses dependent on AWS. Financial experts warn the incident could prompt companies to diversify cloud providers, potentially intensifying competition but likely limiting significant immediate stock impact for Amazon[1].

Amazon's stock experienced a modest decline of approximately 2.3% in the hours following the AWS outage on October 20, 2025, as investors reacted to concerns about the reliability of its cloud infrastructure[1]. Market analysts noted mixed sentiments, with some investors worried about operational vulnerabilities while others believe AWS’s dominant 37% global cloud market share will sustain long-term client retention despite the disruption[1]. The outage, traced to a DNS fault caused by a DynamoDB API update, has prompted businesses to reconsider multi-cloud strategies, potentially reshaping competitive dynamics in the cloud sector[1].

Amazon traced the cause of a major internet outage to DNS resolution failures affecting DynamoDB API endpoints in its US-EAST-1 (Northern Virginia) region, which led to cascading disruptions across AWS services and numerous high-profile websites and apps between 11:49 PM PDT on October 19 and 2:24 AM PDT on October 20[1][2][3]. Although the primary DNS fault was fully mitigated by 2:24 AM PDT, some internal AWS subsystems remained impaired, requiring temporary throttling of certain operations like EC2 instance launches, with full service restoration only completed by 3:01 PM PDT[1]. This incident underscores the critical dependency of global internet functionality on AWS’s DNS infrastructure—specifically Route

**Breaking News Update**: Amazon has confirmed that a DNS fault was the root cause of the recent major internet outage affecting AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region. The outage, which began around **11:49 PM PDT on October 19**, impacted numerous services including Amazon.com, Alexa, Snapchat, and Fortnite, with issues peaking around **2:40 AM ET on October 20** according to Downdetector reports[1][2]. By **3:35 AM PDT on October 20**, AWS reported that the DNS issue had been fully mitigated, with most service operations succeeding, although some internal subsystems continued to experience impairments[3].

In the wake of the recent DNS fault at Amazon Web Services, the competitive landscape in cloud services is experiencing shifts. The outage, which affected over 70 AWS services and numerous global platforms, has prompted some companies to reassess their reliance on AWS, with potential implications for competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. As Amazon works to stabilize its services, industry analysts note that this incident could lead to increased competition for market share, with some speculating that "the downtime may drive a 5% increase in inquiries for alternative cloud providers over the next quarter," according to a market analyst.

Amazon traced the massive October 19-20 internet outage to DNS resolution problems affecting the DynamoDB service in the US-EAST-1 region, which began around 11:49 PM PDT on October 19. The company mitigated the DNS fault by 2:24 AM PDT on October 20 and gradually restored services, with full recovery of all AWS services—including EC2 instance launches—achieved by 3:01 PM PDT on October 20[2][3]. The incident disrupted major platforms like Alexa, Snapchat, and Fortnite, underscoring the broad impact of AWS's cloud issues on the internet[1].

Amazon Web Services traced the major internet outage on October 20, 2025, to a DNS resolution failure specifically impacting DynamoDB API endpoints in the US-EAST-1 (Northern Virginia) region, which caused cascading disruptions across over 70 AWS services and dependent platforms like Snapchat, Coinbase, and Fortnite[3][7][10]. The DNS fault rendered services unreachable despite the underlying infrastructure functioning, illustrating how critical DNS is for cloud system stability. The incident began around 3:11 AM ET, lasted about 3-4 hours overall, and was fully mitigated by 6:35 AM ET, with continued recovery as caches cleared and backlogs resolved[7][10].

**Breaking News Update**: As Amazon continues to restore services following the DNS outage, the incident highlights the company's dominant position in the cloud market, with AWS holding at least 30% of the global share[2]. This significant downtime may prompt competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud to capitalize on the situation, potentially altering market dynamics in the coming weeks. Amazon's Route 53 DNS features, central to the outage, play a crucial role in translating domain names into IP addresses, underscoring the reliance on AWS for a wide range of services[4].

**Breaking News Update**: Amazon has confirmed that a DNS fault was the root cause of a major internet outage affecting services like Alexa, Snapchat, and Slack on October 20, 2025. The issue, which began around 11:49 PM PDT on October 19, was mitigated by 2:24 AM PDT the next day, with full recovery for most AWS services by 3:01 PM PDT[2][4]. As of October 20, Amazon reported that the underlying DNS issue has been fully resolved, with operations returning to normal following a brief period of throttled EC2 instance launches[3][4].

Amazon's stock saw a brief dip of about 1.5% in premarket trading on Monday, October 20, 2025, as news of the major AWS outage broke, reflecting investor concerns about the reliability of its cloud services[5]. Despite this, market reactions remained mixed, with analysts noting that Amazon’s dominant 37% share in the cloud market limits long-term customer loss, tempering extended negative stock movements[2]. Investors are weighing the economic impact of potential operational disruptions for AWS-dependent businesses against the prohibitive costs these customers face when switching providers[2].

Following Amazon’s disclosure that the major internet outage was traced to a DNS fault linked to a DynamoDB API update, Amazon’s stock saw a brief dip during premarket trading on October 21, 2025, reflecting investor concerns over AWS reliability[1]. Analysts noted mixed market reactions, with some investors worried about customer losses but others believing AWS’s dominant 37% cloud market share will sustain long-term demand despite the disruption[2]. Financial experts also highlighted the outage’s wider economic impact, estimating potential losses in the billions and prompting calls for more resilient multi-cloud strategies across industries[2].