'Some time to resolve': Nationwide outage crippling major services

A widespread global software glitch on July 19 is affecting hundreds of companies and agencies nationwide, including banks, airlines, media outlets and government services.

Crowd-sourced website Downdetector has listed Telstra, Microsoft, McDonald's, Google, NBN, Foxtel, National Australia Bank, ABC, CBA, ANZ, and Bendigo Bank as suffering outages.

Victoria and NSW regional transport links are also affected.

Just before 8pm, Federal Home Affairs minister Clare O'Neil said the National Emergency Mechanism group was warned "given the size and nature of this incident it may take some time to resolve". It was not a cyber security issue.

A spokesperson for Microsoft told ACM it was working on a resolution. "We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform," they said.

"We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming."

The incident has stemmed from IT giant Crowdstrike's software platform.

A "defect" found in an update for Windows hosts was responsible for the global tech outage, the cyber security company behind the glitch says. CrowdStrike, based in the US, said it was working with customers and offering support.

"Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted," a spokesperson said in a statement to ACM.

"This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.

"We further recommend organisations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels."

National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said on X earlier on July 19 they had identified the source of the outage.

"Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies," she wrote.

Telstra said its services were affected by a problem with Microsoft and a software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike that seemed to have gone awry.

It said there was no effect on calls to its Triple Zero call centres or our fixed and mobile network.

Supermarkets, including Coles and Woolworths, are also experiencing major delays due to checkouts not working. Shoppers have been unable to enter these supermarkets in some locations.

Many shops were forced to cease Friday trading when their EFTPOS stopped working.

RMIT associate professor Dr Mark Gregory said it appeared the outage had been caused by a failure of systems associated with the Crowdstrike Falcon endpoint security monitoring software.

Crowdstrike is a global multi-national software solutions provider.

"The reliance on centrally managed global software solution can lead to significant security risks," he said.

Melbourne Airport says global technology issues are affecting check-in procedures for some airlines.

A Virgin spokesperson said "Virgin Australia operations are continuing ... however some cancellations and delays are expected".

Flights to and from Australia's largest airport, Sydney, are affected.

"A global technical outage has impacted some airline operations and terminal services," a spokesperson said.

"Flights are currently arriving and departing, however there may be some delays throughout the evening."

The airport has brought on additional staff to help passengers, they said.

Disruptions have also hit the airport in Canberra.

Even footy fans were being hit with AFL club Essendon warning fans to bring physical tickets so they could get into Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

In Victoria, it's understood V-Line regional train and bus services were affected but were resuming after 7pm with major delays.

In NSW, trains on the Hunter line between Newcastle and Dungog/Scone and on the Southern Highlands line between Campbelltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn were affected briefly during the peak commuter time of 5.30pm.

But the services were back online quickly, a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said. There was no effect on road traffic or traffic lights, she said.

The emergency number 000 is working, but NSW and Victorian police systems have gone down.

Victoria Police released a statement saying that they were investigating any ongoing effect of the outage. "There are some internal application systems affected by the national outage, these are not impacting our ability to dispatch or respond to incidents," it said.

A NSW SES spokesperson said the SES remained operational.

"For life threatening incidents call 000. For assistance in floods, storm and tsunami ring the NSW SES on 132500," the spokesperson said.

Services NSW, which oversees car registrations and driver's licences, is affected by the outage.

"Service NSW apologises to customers for any inconvenience," a spokesperson said.

"Teams are working to restore services as quickly as possible.

"The majority of digital transactions have not been impacted and people are encouraged to complete transactions via the Service NSW website where possible.

Earlier on July 19, Illawarra reporter Nick McLaren wrote on X the ABC was having "major IT issues" across the country.

"We apologise for any break in transmission or loss of regular programs."

ABC Radio National host Andy Park confirmed ABC radio was down.

ABC producer Catherine Zengerer said that a "major technology issue" is affecting the ABC right now.

"Normal RN programming (including the LNL repeat) is affected and replacement music is playing."

In Melbourne, Nine News was forced to improvise the start of its 4pm bulletin amid problems with their prepared news packages.

Sky News has had similar problems with its services reduced because of the outage.

Griffith University business affairs expert Graeme Hughes said the outage showed how reliant society had become on technology.

"While the outage is not yet resolved, it highlights our heavy reliance on technology for daily activities," he said.

"With Australians making over 730 electronic transactions per year on average, our dependence on technology is more critical than ever."

Australian Microsoft regional director Troy Hunt said this "will be the largest IT outage in history". "[Affecting] not just everywhere, but everyone (nearly). This is massive."

with Australian Associated Press