A widespread Microsoft outage is affecting Australia’s supermarkets, banks, telecommunications companies and more.
The ABC is experiencing a major network outage, along with several other media outlets.
Crowd-sourced website Downdetector is listing outages for Foxtel, National Australia Bank and Bendigo Bank.
Telco giant Telstra has also confirmed some of its systems are being impacted by the outage.
Payment systems have been impacted around the world with customers unable to use Apple Pay to pay for goods and services. Customers at Coles and Woolworths have reported not being able to tap their cards at terminals. EFTPOS appears to be working at some outlets.
Betting systems have also been suspended including at TAB in Australia.
The ongoing widespread Microsoft outage is reportedly related to US-based cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike. Its ‘Falcon sensor’ is installed on many business computers to gather security data.
“CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon sensor,” the company said in a statement on its website.
“Symptoms include hosts experiencing a bugcheck/blue screen error related to the Falcon sensor. Our engineering teams are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket.
“Status updates will be posted below as we have more information to share, including when the issue is resolved.”
In a post on X, the National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said a “large-scale technical outage” is affecting people across Australia, but “there is no information to suggest it is a cyber security incident.”
Outage hits NSW Police, airports
Emergency number 000 is working, but NSW Police systems have gone down, restricting their ability to share information.
A NSW Police spokesperson urged the public to only contact 000 in an emergency. NSW Police will provide an update shortly on what systems have been impacted.
Victoria Police says its triple-zero emergency number and online reporting remain operational.
“We’ll keep you updated if anything changes,” a spokesman said.
Delays have also swept across Sydney’s domestic and international terminals, hitting check ins during the peak Friday travel rush. In Perth, airport check-ins have reportedly been disrupted. Melbourne Airport says it has been affected too.
Virgin Australia says the outage is preventing all planes from coming and going at Sydney Airport.
Australian TV networks hit
The issues have been affecting Australian TV channels, too.
ABC News Channel has not been showing any graphics or footage, and presenters have been forced to read scripts off computers with the teleprompter system down.
Sky News is also now broadcasting with pared-back graphics. When the issue first struck, the network flipped to Fox News broadcasting, and then a recorded loop informing viewers of the outage.
Nine News and Seven News in Sydney are broadcasting as usual now, but Ten News First was forced to cancel its afternoon news bulletin.
