A massive Microsoft service outage has paralysed Australian media, leaving journalists, presenters and viewers staring at blank screens.
The unprecedented global event, which stemmed from a flaw in CrowdStrike’s security software, hit Australia around 3 p.m. on Friday.
Media outlets including ABC, SBS, Channel 7, Channel 9, Sky News and News Corp Australia have reported issues with their networks.
ABC was unable to broadcast.
“ABC is experiencing a major network outage, as are a number of other media outlets,” it said in a statement on its website.
ABC News anchors were left without autocues or graphics, and one ABC reporter explained that they were unable to convey the vision.
“Somehow the studios and cameras seem to be working, but I was sitting at my desk, writing a script for the news when… the system we use to create our news bulletin and the output of our news bulletins failed,” they said.
‘Friends on social media who work for different companies and are all affected by the same blue screen appearing on their computers.
‘It seems to be making things quite impossible in terms of gathering news and transmitting it.
Sky News presenter Tom Connell explains that the broadcaster has been affected by the Microsoft service outage
“I think we’re doing the best we can in the studio right now, being able to communicate with reporters across the country, but in terms of being able to organize things, we’re having serious problems with those computer systems.”
National Drive Radio host Andy Park posted a video on X at 3:54 p.m. showing him standing in front of a console of unresponsive screens.
“Well, normally I would be getting ready to go on air here at National Radio, but as you can see, we’re having some pretty serious problems with our computers,” Park said.
“The Blue Screen of Death has not taken hold at ABC Radio Networks, but we understand this is a widespread outage related to CloudStrike software,” he said, listing some of the other major companies experiencing technology issues.
‘We’re doing our best to get things back on air on Radio Nation today. It’s a hive of activity as everyone is trying to make their way to access the emergency tape, which we hope to do early so we can bring you what we know from RN Drive this afternoon.
‘Stay tuned.’
Media outlets including ABC, SBS, Channel 7, Channel 9, Sky News and News Corp Australia were affected by the outage.
Nine said the laptops of dozens of editors and journalists stopped working shortly before 4 p.m.
In Melbourne, Nine News was forced to improvise the start of its 4pm bulletin due to problems with its prepared news packages.
A source at News Corp, Australia’s largest newspaper publisher, said it was also experiencing “blue screens”.
‘Cannot access CMS (content management system) and homepage ranking tools. Email subscription.’
Local content cannot be broadcast Sky News reverted to an international broadcast of Fox News for an hour.
Radio National Drive host Andy Park posted this video of himself in a radio studio with blank screens.
Sky then began playing a pre-recorded message from reporter Tom Connell, standing in front of a blue error screen.
In addition to media outlets, multiple internet platforms, telecommunications, banks, retail stores and government services were affected by the outage.
Huge queues formed after cash registers at Woolworths supermarkets failed and airport departure boards failed, prompting airline staff to advise customers to Google their flight departure times.
Financial services companies including Bendigo Bank, NAB, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ, Bank Australia, St George, Adelaide Bank, Me Bank, Bank of Queensland and Visa have been affected, according to Down Detector.
Other affected services include MyGov, NBN, Centrelink, ASX and Australia Post, along with a range of social media entertainment services including Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, X, Xbox, Google Cloud, Open AI and Reddit.
Vodafone, Optus, Aussie Broadband, iiNet and Opticomm were among the telecoms companies affected by the outage.
The National Cyber Security Coordinator informed users that the outage was not due to a cyber attack.
It said: “There is no information to suggest this is a cyber security incident.”
‘Our current information is that this outage is related to a technical issue with a third-party software platform used by the affected companies.’
CrowdStrike promises to “deliver cloud workload and endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyber response services.”
A message on CrowdStrike’s support page read: ‘CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon sensor.
‘Symptoms include hosts experiencing a blue screen or bugcheck 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.