Cloudflare Outage November 2025: What Happened and How to Protect Your Business
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On November 18, 2025, the internet experienced a significant disruption when Cloudflare, one of the world’s largest content delivery networks, suffered a major outage that affected millions of users globally. This incident serves as a critical reminder of the importance of business continuity planning and robust IT support infrastructure for businesses of all sizes.
What Happened During the Cloudflare Outage?
The outage began around 6:40 AM ET on November 18, 2025, when Cloudflare detected an internal service degradation. Major platforms including X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude chatbot, Shopify, and OpenAI were among the sites impacted.
According to Cloudflare, the root cause was an automatically generated configuration file used to manage threat traffic that grew beyond an expected size, triggering a crash in the software system handling traffic for several services. The company emphasized that there was no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious activity.
The Scale of Impact
Cloudflare’s network handles around a fifth of global web traffic, making this outage particularly significant. The real problems kicked off around 8:30 AM Eastern and lasted until close to noon. During peak disruption, thousands of users reported inability to access critical business platforms and services.
Affected services included:
- Social media platforms (X, Truth Social)
- AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude)
- E-commerce sites (Shopify)
- Business platforms (Indeed)
- Even infrastructure monitoring tools like Downdetector itself
Why This Matters for Sacramento Businesses
If your business relies on cloud-based services, third-party platforms, or content delivery networks, incidents like the Cloudflare outage can directly impact your operations. This is where having professional IT support in Sacramento becomes essential.
The Risks of Single Points of Failure
As one cybersecurity expert noted during the outage, when a single infrastructure layer fails, news sites, payment systems, public information pages, and community services all freeze simultaneously. This highlights a critical vulnerability in modern business operations.
Lessons Learned from Recent Infrastructure Outages
The Cloudflare outage is part of a concerning trend of major infrastructure disruptions:
- October 2025: Amazon Web Services suffered a daylong disruption that impacted services worldwide
- October 2025: Microsoft’s Azure cloud and 365 services experienced a global outage
- July 2024: CrowdStrike’s faulty software upgrade caused widespread disruptions affecting flights, financial services, and healthcare
Similar to the recent Microsoft 365 outage we covered, these incidents demonstrate the critical need for redundancy and disaster recovery planning.
How to Protect Your Business from Infrastructure Outages
1. Implement Redundancy Strategies
Don’t rely on a single service provider. Our cloud services in Sacramento can help you implement multi-cloud strategies that provide backup options when your primary provider experiences issues.
2. Develop a Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan
A solid disaster recovery strategy ensures your business can continue operating even when critical services go down. This includes:
- Regular data backups following the 3-2-1 backup rule
- Alternative communication channels
- Documented emergency procedures
- Regular testing of recovery protocols
3. Monitor Your Network Infrastructure
Professional network monitoring services can help you detect issues before they impact your business operations. Our managed IT services in Sacramento include 24/7 monitoring and rapid response capabilities.
4. Invest in Professional IT Support
Having access to experienced IT support professionals means you’re not alone when technical issues arise. Whether it’s a global outage or a local network problem, expert guidance is invaluable.
The Broader Cybersecurity Context
Infrastructure outages often create opportunities for cybercriminals. During service disruptions, businesses are vulnerable to:
- Phishing scams impersonating service providers
- Ransomware attacks targeting distracted security teams
- Data breaches during recovery efforts
This is why comprehensive cybersecurity services should be part of every business’s infrastructure strategy.
What Cloudflare’s Response Tells Us
Cloudflare’s CTO stated, “I won’t mince words: earlier today we failed our customers and the broader Internet when a problem in the Cloudflare network impacted large amounts of traffic that rely on us”. This transparency and accountability is important, but businesses can’t afford to simply wait for providers to resolve issues.
The company has committed to sharing a detailed post-mortem analysis, which will provide valuable insights for IT professionals and businesses dependent on their services.
Take Action to Protect Your Business
Don’t wait for the next major outage to expose vulnerabilities in your business operations. Here’s what you can do today:
- Schedule a Free IT Assessment: Contact Business PC Support for a comprehensive evaluation of your IT infrastructure
- Review Your Disaster Recovery Plan: Ensure you have documented procedures for various outage scenarios
- Test Your Backup Systems: Regularly verify that your backup solutions are working properly
- Train Your Team: Ensure employees know what to do when critical services become unavailable
Conclusion
The November 2025 Cloudflare outage demonstrates that even the most reliable infrastructure providers can experience failures. While you can’t prevent external outages, you can prepare your business to minimize their impact.
Whether you’re in Elk Grove, Sacramento, or surrounding areas, Business PC Support offers comprehensive IT services designed to keep your business running smoothly, even during major infrastructure disruptions.
Ready to strengthen your business against future outages? Contact us today or call to schedule your free consultation.
Related Resources:
- Understanding Business Continuity Planning
- Cybersecurity Tips for Businesses
- Network Security in Sacramento
- Cloud Migration Services
External References:
Business PC Support has been providing reliable IT solutions to Sacramento-area businesses for years. Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to keeping your technology infrastructure secure, efficient, and resilient. Learn more about our services.
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