Australia hit by ‘large-scale technical outage’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Australia experienced a "large-scale technical outage" on Friday, the country's cybersecurity coordinator said.

Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness said the technical outage has impacted several companies and services throughout Australia.

“Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies,” he said on X.

“There is no information to suggest it is a cyber security incident. We continue to engage across key stakeholders,” he added.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also reported that it has been “experiencing a major network outage, along with several other media outlets.”

People in New Zealand also reported disruptions in banking services.

Acting Prime Minister David Seymour said the government is “working to ensure that impacts on lifelines services are minimized and national coordination structures are activated, if required.”

“We appreciate the inconvenience this is causing for the public, retailers and businesses,” Seymour said on X.

He added: “I have not currently received any reporting to indicate these issues are related to malicious cyber security activity.”

Europe reported on Friday that a major Microsoft IT outage disrupted people's daily lives, affecting airports, airlines, businesses, media outlets, and stock exchanges.

A significant chain of failures spread from the US to Asia following Microsoft's announcement of an outage affecting its online services.