U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has apologised for Friday’s global IT outage, which impacted an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices.
A failed software update is being blamed for widespread shutdowns across banking, travel, retail, broadcast and more.
CrowdStrike called the outage an “isolated” incident. Some services remain offline but Crowdstrike says it’s “making progress by the minute” to restore all systems.
Here’s the latest.
Crowdstrike?
Almost 30,000 international businesses use CrowdStrike’s antivirus software to detect and stop cybersecurity breaches.
The company said it released a routine update on Friday, which triggered an “error resulting in a system crash” and ‘blue screen of death’ on impacted systems.
In an update on Monday, CrowdStrike said “a significant number” of services were “back online and operational.”
“We understand the profound impact this has had on everyone,” it said.
“We apologise for the disruption this has created. Our focus is clear: to restore every system as soon as possible.”
A statement from CrowdStrike after Friday’s global IT outage.
Economic recovery
Ministers and government agencies held emergency meetings over the weekend to examine the outage’s impact on Australian users and businesses.
The Government said it expects “teething issues” while issues are resolved, but Australia is on the road to recovery.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians “can be quite proud of the fact that this very significant global event was dealt with in a way that minimised the impact on the Australian people”.
“What I would say to people is please be patient. Don’t take this out on the staff at your supermarkets if you have to wait a little bit longer, it is absolutely not their fault, and what I can see around me is a lot of people who are working as hard as they can to get things working again
Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil speaking at a press conference over the weekend.
Scam Alert
The National Anti-Scam Centre, which is part of consumer watchdog the ACCC, issued scam alerts in the wake of the outage.
Consumers have been told to look out for opportunistic scammers offering technical assistance to people impacted by the outage.
“Criminals look to take advantage of incidents like this CrowdStrike outage, creating a sense of urgency that you need to do what they say to protect your computer and your financial information,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
Cyber Risks
Experts warn the incident “should serve as a crucial wake-up call” for businesses to diversify and innovate their cybersecurity processes.
University of Sydney Professor Dr Shumi Akhta said: “From banking to healthcare, education to government, no sector remains untouched.”
Akhta said the outage highlights “an urgent need for a worldwide strategic overhaul of our critical infrastructures.”
