IT outages are impacting institutions across Australia including news outlets, banks, supermarkets, airports and telecommunications.
Globally, Windows users experienced outages and IT security firm CrowdStrike ran a recorded phone message on Friday saying it was aware of reports of crashes on Microsoft’s Windows operating system relating to its Falcon sensor.
SBS News has contacted CrowdStrike for comment.
Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra airports are experiencing disruptions with passengers unable to check in.
An Australian government spokesperson said the National Emergency Mechanism group will meet shortly.
“The Australian Government is working closely with the National Cyber Security Coordinator on this unfolding outage,” they said.
“We understand Triple-0 services are currently not affected by this outage.
“The information as it stands is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.”
Melbourne airport was experiencing delays with passengers unable to check in. Source: SBS News
Real-time problem and outage monitoring site Downdetector shows several organisations including Commonwealth Bank, Optus and Australia Post are experiencing disruptions.
In the US, Delta, United and American Airlines flights were grounded due to communications issues.
In a statement on social media platform X, National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said: “I am aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies and services across Australia this afternoon.
Some Woolworths outlets were closed due to the outage affecting their systems. Source: Supplied
“Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.
“There is no information to suggest it is a cyber security incident. We continue to engage across key stakeholders.”
Banks have been impacted by the outage. Source: SBS News
A spokesperson for NSW Police said systems are impacted but that people are still able to make triple-zero calls.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told SBS News: “Some of our stores and other facilities have been impacted as a result of the global IT issue. We thank customers for their patience and understanding.”
Professor of cybersecurity at Monash University Nigel Phair said while it is too early to know for sure, the major disruptions appear “non-malicious.”
“Normally you’d think it is a malicious hack, it appears to be an outage or a glitch with the company itself, so non-malicious,” he said.
“There could be major ramifications for cybersecurity, a lot of major organisations rely on Crowdstrike,” he said.
“When a large company like Crowdstrike goes down, they all do.”
Australian cybersecurity company CyberCX has been monitoring the outages in Australia and New Zealand.
“We understand that this has been caused by an issue affecting organisations who have installed Crowdstrike Falcon in their IT environments,” a CyberCX spokesperson said
“At this time, CyberCX is actively tracking the situation and are awaiting information detailing scope and recovery. We will continue to support affected customers as this incident evolves.”
This is a developing story and this article will be updated. Follow the latest from SBS News at www.sbs.com.au/news, or on the SBS News app available on iOS or Android.
