Internal DNS error cripples iTunes, other Apple services

"We apologize to our customers experiencing problems with iTunes and other services this morning. The cause was an internal DNS error at Apple. We're working to make all of the services available to customers as soon as possible, and we thank everyone for their patience," Apple said in a statement sent to cable network CNBC.

In addition to iTunes, the App Store, iBooks Store and Mac App Store are also offline, according to Apple's service status page. The outage, which began before 5 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and has continued throughout Wednesday, affects all users, according to a timeline on the service status page. People have reported issues logging into and making purchases from the stores.

The iCloud Mail and iCloud Account and Sign In services were also offline Wednesday from around 5 a.m. to approximately 9 a.m.

Fred O'Connor writes about IT careers and health IT for The IDG News Service. Follow Fred on Twitter at @fredjoconnor. Fred's e-mail address is fred_o'connor@idg.com