CrowdStrike issue has been 'identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed'

CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz said late on Friday a 'defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts' caused the outage that struck millions of people across the globe and dozens of Australian companies. 

Crowds at Sydney Domestic Airport amid a global technology outage. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

A 'large scale' global outage at cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike has struck dozens of Australian companies, including the big banks, Bunnings, Telstra and Qantas as well as state emergency services.

Follow The Australian's rolling coverage below.

Live Updates

9:52 pm July 19, 2024

Global technical issues has reached the Paris Olympic Games

Jacquelin Magnay

The global technical issues affecting Microsoft software has reached the Paris Olympic Games.

Paris 2024 said in a statement that there were "limited" impacts affecting uniform delivery and accreditations.

Some athletes and team delegations have been affected because of flight delays at their origin, disrupting their entry into Paris.

Australian Olympic team spokesman Strath Gordon said no Australian athletes have been affected so far.

"To date we have not had any notification that Australian teams have been affected because of the flight delays,'' he said.

"Team arrivals, operations and entry into the athletes village is proceeding as planned''.

However there has been an issue at the Games with the validation of accreditation cards.

The Paris 2024 security is currently accepting pre-issued cards until the validation system can be brought back up and running.

"Our teams have been fully mobilised to ensure the continuity of operations at optimum levels,'' Paris 2024 said, adding that the Paris 2024’s ticketing systems have been unaffected.

There have been concerns that the eight million spectator tickets, which are electronic, could cause mayhem if there is a cyber attack or tech outage.

Patrons have had the opportunity to pay extra for a Games paper ticket, but this doesn't offer entry, and is only a souvenir.

Paris 2024 said the technology outage had not impacted on preparing the Olympic venues and work schedules are not at risk.

The Torch Relay is continuing along its route as normal, with today’s stage taking place in the Val D’Oise.

An official said the technical issues have not affected airports in Paris although there are flight delays.

9:31 pm July 19, 2024

All Jetstar flights cancelled in Australia and New Zealand

Staff writers

Every Jetstar flight in Australian and New Zealand has been cancelled until Saturday, with thousands of customers affected across the two countries.

A Jetstar spokeswoman said the airline was particularly badly impacted by the outage, with multiple systems down, including the system they use to contact customers.

“As a result of the outage, all Jetstar Airways flights have been cancelled until 2am local time Saturday 20 July,” the spokeswoman said.

“The IT outage is impacting multiple Jetstar systems, including the system we use to contact customers and we sincerely apologise for the frustration this is causing.”

“Our teams are working on recovery options and we will contact customers with updates as soon as our systems are back up and running.

“If you’re due to travel today or tomorrow, but no longer wish to travel, we’re offering free moves (+7 days from date of travel) or voucher refunds.

At Melbourne Airport, Jetstar travellers have been told to leave the terminal and go home or organise accommodation.

It’s understood the airline will not be issuing refunds for accommodation unless customers have travel insurance.

Customers will be credited for flights they missed on Friday evening.

– Mohammad Alfares

8:54 pm July 19, 2024 Highlight

'Defect found in single content update for Windows hosts' cause of outage

Jared Lynch

CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz said late on Friday a “defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts” caused the outage that struck millions of people across the globe and dozens of Australian companies.

“Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” Mr Kurtz said.

“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers."

8:10 pm July 19, 2024

CrowdStrike outage may 'take some time to resolve': O'Neil

Ben Packham

Home Affairs Minister Claire O'Neil says a software update by CrowdStrike should fix the IT issues being experienced across Australia and the world.

In a statement issued after a National Coordination Mechanism meeting, Ms O'Neil said while the company had moved to address the problem "it may take some time to resolve".

"CrowdStrike attended the meeting and we can confirm there is no evidence that this is a cyber-security incident," she said.

"This is a technical issue, caused by a CrowdStrike update to its customers.

"They have issued a fix for this, allowing affected companies and organisations to reboot their systems without the problem."

"Governments are closely engaged at all levels, focused on bringing together the affected parties and ensuring government entities institute the fix as quickly as possible."

7:46 pm July 19, 2024

'We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming': Microsoft

Ellie Dudley

A Microsoft spokesperson has said a resolution to the IT disruption that has thrown businesses, airports and government services into chaos is "forthcoming".

“We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”

7:45 pm July 19, 2024

Victoria's critical infrastructure avoids disruption

Tricia Rivera

A Victorian government spokeswoman says there has been no impact to the state’s critical infrastructure.

“We are monitoring the impacts of the global IT outage, and are enacting contingency plans for those services impacted,” the spokeswoman said on Friday night.

“There has been no impact to critical infrastructure or Triple 0 Victoria, and we are working closely with the Federal Government to understand the impact of the outage.”

V-Line services have resumed with major delays expected after what the rail and coach operator described as a “widespread external communications outage”.

Western Health said it has also been impacted by the outage.

“Our staff are trained to respond to IT disruptions,” it said in a statement.

“We have implemented a number of back-up processes to minimise impact to patient care, including reverting to the use of paper-based patient records.”

7:14 pm July 19, 2024 Highlight

Hundreds stranded at Sydney Airport as Jetstar's systems remain down

Liam Mendes

Jetstar customers at Sydney domestic airport are being told that they must go home if their flight has been cancelled and not to contact the phone centre or live chat as systems are still down.

A Jetstar staff member said 14 domestic flights had been cancelled, and that there was no timeframe as to when Jetstar system would return online.

"We haven't had an update as to when our systems are online, so we will not be able to assist you," the staffer said in an announcement just before 7pm.

"Due to the system outage passengers will not be able to travel until tomorrow.

"Because we don't have any systems we will not be able to move anyone onto other flights," the staff member said.

Hundreds of passengers are waiting at the airport, but there are no queues for security for passengers on flights that have not been cancelled.

Flight information display screens, which were previously impacted, are now functioning.

Jetstar passengers Dan Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, Brooke Kearns, Alex Bielby have made friends in the queue as they wait to find out whether they will fly to Queensland.

Jetstar travellers Dan Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, Brooke Kearns, Alex Bielby are now friends as they wait for hours in a queue to see if they will get home to Queensland.

"It's actually been wonderful, the crowd is coming together," Mr Johnson, who was travelling to Brisbane for a cycling race, said.

"Jetstar have been wonderful, the crowd is coming together, uniting," he said.

Brooke Kearns travelled four hours by train to catch her flight.

"You've a few people that are rude but mostly everyone's having a good time and just doing the best, so that's fine," she said.

A Sydney Airport spokesperson said the airport had activated contingency plans with airline partners.

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

"We have activated our contingency plans with our airline partners and deployed additional staff to our terminals to assist passengers.

"Anyone travelling today should leave plenty of time to come to the airport and check with their airline regarding the status of their flight."

Jetstar are unable to check in passengers or board flights, with their system "still not online" as of 7.15pm, but some of the airline's flights are expected to depart this evening.

It does not appear Virgin or Qantas are heavily impacted by the outage, with most flights scheduled as on time.

7:06 pm July 19, 2024

CommBank customers unable to make PayID payments

Ellie Dudley

Commonwealth Bank customers have been unable to make PayID payments due to the global IT disruption.

A statement released on Friday afternoon said the bank was "urgently investigating any impacts to our systems and services".

"We are aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies," the statement said.

"This outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform."

The bank confirmed its PayID service, which allows customers to transfer money instantly to one another, was not working for some customers.

"We know some customers have been unable to make PayID payments. If you are unable to use PayID, you're still able to make payments between your accounts or pay someone using their BSB and account number," the statement said.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience while we work through the impacts."

7:01 pm July 19, 2024

NSW trains are back up and running

Ellie Dudley

NSW trains are back up and running after lines in the north of the state and in south-west Sydney were affected by the global IT disruption.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson on Friday night confirmed services had resumed "on the Hunter Line between Newcastle and Dungog/Scone and Southern Highlands Line between Campbeltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn after earlier being impacted by a broader IT outage".

Other lines across Sydney were unaffected by the outage, and commuters largely travelled undisrupted during peak hour.

6:51 pm July 19, 2024

Six Woolworths stores hit by outage have closed

Ellie Dudley

Six Woolworths stores have been closed as a result of the disruption, and some online orders have been unable to be filled.

"In some cases, customers may find less registers available than normal so we’re grateful for their patience," a Woolworths spokesperson said.