Key Takeaway
- A major global outage caused by Cloudflare disrupted access to many popular websites
- Malaysians were unable to load financial platforms, ecommerce sites, and media outlets
- The issue was not with Unifi, Maxis, or mobile data
- Cloudflare is an internet infrastructure provider that many sites rely on to run
- Learn how to check if a website is down and what steps you can take when it happens
Why Are So Many Websites Down Today?
It’s not just you, many websites globally were inaccessible due to a major outage.
On 18 November 2025, users in Malaysia and around the world reported issues accessing popular sites.
From ecommerce checkouts to banking dashboards, pages were failing to load, some displaying 500 or 504 error codes.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. It was part of a wider problem.
What Do “500” or “504 Gateway Timeout” Errors Mean?
These are server-side errors that signal something is wrong on the website’s end, not your device or internet.
- 500 Internal Server Error: The server encountered an issue but couldn’t specify what.
- 504 Gateway Timeout: A server acting as a gateway didn’t get a timely response from another server.
These codes appear when infrastructure providers like Cloudflare face issues, leaving websites unable to complete your request.
During this outage, users and Cloudflare’s own telemetry saw a sharp spike in HTTP 5xx errors.
Is Something Wrong With the Internet in Malaysia?
No — local internet services like Unifi or Maxis were not the cause of the disruption.
This was a Cloudflare-side incident with global impact, not a problem with Malaysia’s consumer ISPs like Unifi or Maxis.
Cloudflare’s postmortem documents the internal cause, Bursa Malaysia likewise attributed its downtime to the Cloudflare outage.
Why Can’t I Access My Favourite Shopping or Banking Site?
The websites were affected by a third-party service provider Cloudflare going down.
Cloudflare powers thousands of websites by helping them load faster and stay secure.
But when Cloudflare experiences a failure, the sites depending on it go offline or show errors.
What Happened to Sites Like Astro, Bursa, or Online Banking?
Many Malaysian services saw issues.
Bursa Malaysia said on X that its platforms were inaccessible due to the global Cloudflare outage.
Several local tech outlets also reported widespread errors. These sites often rely on global backend services like Cloudflare to deliver fast, secure experiences.
Is Malaysia Under Cyber Attack?
No — this wasn’t a cyberattack.
Cloudflare says a database permission change caused a Bot Management feature file to double in size, which exceeded limits and crashed parts of its proxy.
The incident began around 7:20 pm MYT on 18 Nov 2025.
Core traffic was largely normal by 10:30 pm MYT on 18 Nov 2025, and all systems were normal by 1:06 am MYT on 19 Nov 2025.
Why Do Multiple Websites Stop Working at the Same Time?
Because many different websites depend on the same internet infrastructure providers.
Think of Cloudflare like a toll gate for internet traffic. If the gate malfunctions, even unrelated vehicles (websites) can’t pass.
That’s why different, unrelated sites all went down together.
What Is Cloudflare and Why Does It Matter?
Cloudflare helps protect, accelerate, and route traffic for websites around the world.
Businesses use it to stop cyber attacks, reduce loading times, and ensure uptime. But if Cloudflare itself encounters an issue, those sites lose their main lifeline to users.
“Cloudflare says it now serves about 81 million HTTP requests per second on average, underscoring how much of the modern web depends on it.” according to the company’s public network report.
How Long Did the Issue Last?
The disruption lasted a few hours before Cloudflare resolved it.
During this period, users experienced intermittent loading issues. Cloudflare has since issued a fix and a post-mortem is expected to explain the root cause in more detail.
How Can I Check If a Website Is Really Down?
Tool | What It Does | Best For |
Cloudflare Status | Official provider updates | Global infrastructure issues |
Downdetector | Tracks user reports live | Checking app/website issues |
IsItDownRightNow | Pings server to confirm status | Confirming URL-specific issues |
Twitter Search | Real-time user complaints | Spotting service-wide outages |
What Should I NOT Do During a Website Outage?
Avoid common mistakes that may worsen the situation or risk your data.
- Don’t keep refreshing or re-submitting payments repeatedly
- Avoid logging into accounts if the site behaves unusually
- Don’t download VPNs from random sources hoping to bypass issues
- Don’t reset your modem unnecessarily — it’s likely not your connection
What Can Malaysians Do Next Time This Happens?
Stay calm, check credible status pages or tech news, and wait for fixes.
You can:
- Visit Cloudflare status page
- Monitor local X (formerly Twitter) or Downdetector Malaysia
- Contact the service provider for updates (e.g., banks or e-wallets)
For business owners: consider using multi-CDN strategies or redundant failover setups to reduce dependency on one provider.
Need help preparing communication plans for future outages? PRESS is a PR agency that helps brands stay clear and calm when things go dark.
How Can Businesses Prepare for Future Outages?
Redundancy and transparency are key to managing infrastructure risk.
Malaysian businesses — especially those in finance, media, or ecommerce — should consider:
- Multi-CDN setups to route around a single point of failure
- Real-time incident reporting for users
- Clear service status dashboards for transparency
Are There Alternative Providers to Cloudflare?
Yes, but each comes with its own pros and cons.
Alternatives include Akamai, Amazon CloudFront, and Fastly. Some offer better regional routing or DDoS protection, while others may lack Cloudflare’s cost-effectiveness or support. Businesses should assess based on their audience location, latency needs, and budget.
How Do These Outages Affect Daily Life in Malaysia?
They disrupt more than websites, they impact services tied to payments, news, and communications.
From topping up an e-wallet to checking the latest stock prices, outages can delay transactions, affect productivity, and shake consumer trust. For many, it’s a reminder of how much we rely on digital services.
Has This Ever Happened Before?
Yes — major global internet outages have occurred multiple times in recent years.
Understanding that this isn’t the first global outage can help Malaysians see patterns and appreciate the importance of internet resilience.
Some notable global incidents:
- October 2016 (Dyn DDoS Attack): A massive distributed denial-of-service attack on DNS provider Dyn brought down Netflix, Twitter, Reddit, and others across the U.S. and Europe.
- June 2021 (Fastly Outage): Major media websites including BBC, CNN, Reddit, and Spotify went offline due to an issue with Fastly, another major CDN.
- October 2021 (Facebook Outage): Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went down for nearly six hours due to internal configuration errors.
- November 2023 (Cloudflare Partial Outage): Several services were briefly down due to a routing error.
- July 2024 (CrowdStrike-Related IT Outage): A faulty software update from CrowdStrike triggered widespread failures in Windows-based systems globally, affecting corporations, airlines, and government services.
- October 2025 (Amazon Web Services Outage): A major AWS infrastructure failure caused thousands of apps and websites globally to go offline, impacting businesses, cloud-based tools, and APIs across regions.
These events show that even the biggest tech providers can suffer setbacks. The key takeaway? Redundancy, transparency, and user education are essential.
Final Thoughts: Why This Matters in 2025
As more daily services rely on internet infrastructure, understanding outages like this helps Malaysians make better decisions online.
From ecommerce to banking, knowing the difference between a personal network issue and a global outage can save time and worry.
Disclaimer: All of the content was thoroughly fact-checked and verified by our editorial team to ensure accuracy, clarity, and reliability.
Frequently Asked Questions About Websites Down
What caused the outage today?
A technical software error at Cloudflare disrupted thousands of websites worldwide.
Was it a cyber attack?
No, Cloudflare confirmed it was not a security breach but an internal issue.
Which Malaysian sites were affected?
Some financial platforms, media outlets, and ecommerce sites that use Cloudflare.
Can I prevent this from happening again?
Users can’t, but businesses can set up backups or use multiple infrastructure providers.
How do I know if a website is down?
Use tools like Downdetector or ask others online. If many are affected, it’s likely an outage.
What should I do during an internet outage?
Wait for updates, switch connections, and avoid logging into sensitive sites until stable.
