Major IT outages have affected sectors across the world due to a “defect” in a software update to Microsoft from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

According to BBC News, the company says a fix has been deployed, but admits it “could be some time” before systems are fully back up and running.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told NBC, “It could be some time for some systems that just automatically won’t recover, but it is our mission… to make sure every customer is fully recovered.”

BBC News says almost 1,400 flights have been cancelled, while banking and healthcare have also been affected.