Internal messages out of service, servers inaccessible to engineers… The massive outage that affected the Facebook group had direct repercussions on its employees.

It wasn’t just Facebook users who suffered from Monday’s massive blackout. its employees too. According to the testimonies I provided The New York Times, employees of the American digital giant found themselves confused because the company’s internal systems also stopped working.

According to an internal memo sent to employees, the security team was “reported of a system failure that affected all of Facebook’s internal systems and tools.” Those tools included security systems, an internal calendar and planning tools, according to the memo.

Employees unable to reach their offices

Employees say they have had trouble making calls from their work laptops and receiving emails from people outside the company. Facebook’s internal communications department, called Workplace, was also unavailable, preventing many employees from working. Some have had to turn to other platforms such as LinkedIn, Zoom or Discord to chat with colleagues.

In addition, some employees who went to work were unable to reach their offices or meeting rooms, and their digital badge simply no longer worked. Consequences: The company’s security engineers explained that they could not assess the failure because they did not have access to server areas.

Towards a “manual reset” of servers

As a result, a small team of employees was quickly dispatched to Facebook’s data center in Santa Clara, California, to attempt a “manual reset” of the company’s servers, according to an internal memo.

The reasons for the outage, which also affected WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, are currently unknown. Two members of the group security team, call them The New York TimesAnonymously state that this is unlikely to be a cyberattack, as it cannot simultaneously affect all applications of the group.

Cyber ​​security experts have noticed signs of computer paths to accessing Facebook platforms being disrupted. A few hours before the services were restored, Facebook’s chief technology officer sent on Twitter, “My sincere apologies to all those affected by the outage of Facebook services.”