Verizon Outage Traced to Software Glitch, Not a Cyberattack

Verizon says a January 2026 nationwide outage that left many customers in SOS mode was caused by a software issue rather than a cyberattack; while the company hasn’t disclosed specifics, analysts speculate a faulty feature update. The disruption affected major cities, hindered emergency calls and GPS, and disrupted healthcare communications; Verizon is conducting a full review, with NY Assembly member Anil Beephan Jr. urging FCC scrutiny. A $20 account credit via the MyVerizon app has been offered to affected customers.