Cyber outage disrupts sectors across Australia and New Zealand
Authorities and impacted companies believe the outage was due to technical problems with third-party software, not a cyber attack.
A widespread cyber outage on Friday disrupted operations across various sectors in Australia and New Zealand. Key industries, including media, retail, banking, airlines, and telecommunications, were affected by issues stemming from cybersecurity firms CrowdStrike and Microsoft. Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, faced service interruptions, and national airline Qantas reported flight delays.
Victoria state police experienced internal system disruptions, although emergency services remained operational. The outage also impacted several media companies, with state broadcaster ABC and Sky News Australia reporting significant network failures. According to Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, despite the extensive impact, there was no evidence of a cybersecurity attack.
New Zealand also felt the effects, with parliamentary computer systems compromised. Retail operations were hindered, as evidenced by error messages seen on payment systems at Harris Farm grocery stores in Sydney. The outage was linked to a technical issue with a third-party software platform, causing widespread disruptions, but it is not believed to be the result of a hack.
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