‘Largest IT outage in history’ caused by US-based cybersecurity firm

Written By SECedu

The Age | David Swan and Eryk Bagshaw

Updated July 20, 2024 — 3.58am first published July 19, 2024 — 4.00pm

A worldwide cyber crash described as “the largest IT outage in history” brought down computer systems across Australia and parts of the world, crippling airport check-ins, supermarkets and emergency information services.

The outage struck just after 3pm on Friday, triggering delays at airports around the country and world, hampering internet banking systems and forcing laptops across the globe to suddenly shut down.

Richard Buckland, a professor in cybercrime at the School of Computer Science and Engineering UNSW, said the crash was a worst-case scenario.

“This is more serious than a cyberattack, really, because it shows our systems aren’t even proofed against randomness,” he told the ABC.

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