A cyber outage related to an issue at global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and Microsoft hit media, retailers, banks, airlines and telecoms companies across Australia and New Zealand on Friday.
Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, said some customers were unable to transfer money due to the service outage. National airline Qantas and Sydney airport experienced delays, but flights continued as scheduled.
Victorian state police reported internal system disruptions, while emergency services remained unaffected. Media companies experienced output disruptions as well.
Telecoms firm Telstra acknowledged the issue, attributing delays to global problems with CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
Regarding the outage, Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, Michelle McGuinness, stated there was no evidence of a cyber security incident. New Zealand’s parliament also noted computer system impacts.
State broadcaster ABC reported a major network outage, with Sky News Australia correspondent Tom Connell confirming the outage was not a result of hacking.
Grocery chain Harris Farm in Sydney encountered errors on payment systems during the outage.
CrowdStrike acknowledged reports of crashes on Microsoft’s Windows operating system, indicating potential Falcon sensor-related issues without specifically mentioning Australia.
Despite the disruptions, there is no indication of a cybersecurity breach at this time. The outage appears to stem from a technical issue with a third-party software platform used by affected companies.
