After e-mails got stuck in some versions of Microsoft’s Exchange software at the beginning of the year, the group published a solution to the problem. The cause of the problem was an incorrect date format in a file for the malware scanner integrated in Exchange. As a result, the antivirus software crashed and made sure that e-mails were not forwarded.
The Exchange versions 2016 and 2019 were affected. The operators of these Exchange servers either have to run an automated script or carry out several steps manually, as Microsoft explained over the weekend. The group urged patience: it could take a while for the email congestion to resolve.
The problem was given the name Y2K22 on the Internet – an allusion to the Y2K problem from 2000. At that time, it was feared that the year could cause computers to fail on a broad front. However, there were hardly any difficulties on January 1, 2000, partly due to preparatory work by the industry.