Global Cyber Outage: Largest IT Disruption in History Hits Multiple Industries

A massive cyber outage, described as “the largest IT outage in history,” struck globally on Friday, bringing down computer systems across Australia and other parts of the world. The incident caused widespread disruptions, impacting airport check-ins, supermarkets, emergency services, and more.

The outage began shortly after 3 PM AEST, leading to significant delays at airports worldwide, hindering internet banking systems, and causing numerous laptops to shut down unexpectedly. Cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt, founder of the ASafaWeb security analysis firm, remarked that the event was akin to the Y2K scare, but this time, it actually happened.

In response to the unfolding chaos, the Australian federal government convened an emergency meeting with key industry leaders, including executives from Telstra, Optus, Coles, Woolworths, Qantas, and Virgin. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assured the public that his government was working closely with the National Cyber Security Coordinator, and emphasized that critical infrastructure and emergency services remained unaffected.

Despite these assurances, various services were heavily impacted. NSW Police confirmed that while the triple-zero service was operational, their information distribution services were affected. Similarly, Victoria Police reported disruptions to some internal systems. Jetstar canceled all flights in Australia and New Zealand on Friday night, affecting thousands of travelers. Airlines in the United States, India, and Europe also faced significant disruptions, with some resorting to issuing handwritten boarding passes.

The root cause of the outage was identified as a fault in the “Falcon sensor” used by US-based cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike. The sensor, installed on many business computers for security data gathering, significantly impacted Microsoft systems worldwide. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz issued a public apology for the software update that triggered the chaos, assuring that the bug had been identified and remediated.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil stated that CrowdStrike had attended the federal government’s emergency meeting and had issued a fix for companies to reboot their systems. However, due to the incident’s scale, it might take some time to resolve all issues.

The outage affected various sectors significantly. In NSW, trains were canceled on the Hunter Line between Newcastle and Dungog, while in Victoria, payment services failed on Melbourne trams, and supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles faced terminal shutdowns. ANZ’s internet banking services reported issues with processing some payments, and the Commonwealth Bank’s PayID services were unavailable. Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, acknowledged some system impacts but confirmed their fixed and mobile networks remained operational.

National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness confirmed there was no evidence suggesting the outage was a result of a hack or cyberattack. Richard Buckland, a professor in cybercrime at UNSW, highlighted the severity of the incident, noting it showcased vulnerabilities in global systems.

The media industry also experienced disruptions, with Britain’s Sky News forced off air and Australian TV newsrooms improvising due to autocue failures. Radio hosts on Triple J had to rely on CDs and USB sticks to play music as their systems were down.

As the situation continues to stabilize, affected industries are working on recovery plans, and updates are being provided through various channels. The global impact of this unprecedented IT outage underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and contingency planning.