A widespread IT outage has struck Australia, causing disruptions to major banks, media outlets, airlines, and supermarkets. The affected institutions include National Australia Bank, Telstra, Google, and others.
The outage, which began earlier today, has resulted in grounded flights at Sydney Airport, checkout chaos in supermarkets, and scrambled broadcasts on television networks. Autocue, graphics, and computer systems have all been affected.
According to reports from airlines, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have both grounded their flights due to an issue with Microsoft PC operating systems. Passengers at Sydney’s domestic terminal were told that the airline was unable to check them in or board their flights due to the “issue with Microsoft”.
In the United States, a handful of airlines reported delays or cancellations due to similar IT issues just hours before the Australian outage.
Downdetector, an outage tracking website, shows a long list of affected companies, including banks, telecommunications providers, and tech giants like Google.
Microsoft has issued a statement saying it is investigating an issue affecting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. Australia’s cybersecurity watchdog has stated that there is no evidence to suggest the outage is related to a cybersecurity incident.
Instead, it appears to be a technical issue with a third-party software platform used by the affected companies.
The full extent of the outage is still unclear, but it has caused significant disruptions across Australia and the US.
