On a Thursday morning, millions in Eastern Europe lost access to key Google services -including Search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Drive, and Google logins.
The disruption notably impacted the ability to use services like ChatGPT, which require Google account logins. A cybersecurity expert, Lyubomir Tulev, explained: “For some it was an inconvenience, but for others it meant real losses.” In Turkey, the “state machine was literally blocked” for about an hour and a half due to heavy reliance on Google Workspace.
The outages were not global, but concentrated around the Black Sea and Southeast Europe. Most affected were: Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Georgia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, North Macedonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, among others. Ancillary services like Spotify and Discord were also affected, underscoring how widespread the disruption was.
Notably, Google has not issued any official explanation. Cybersecurity voices, like Tulev, argue that if this was a software glitch or incorrect update, Google would have said so by now. The continued silence is seen as suspect, implying potential physical or infrastructure-related causes.
As the CEO and founder of Pubcon and WebmasterWorld., Brett Tabke has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of online marketing and search engine optimization. His journey in the computer industry has spanned over three decades and has made him a pioneering force behind digital evolution. Full Bio
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