Australia’s cyber intelligence agency has issued a warning about “malicious websites and unofficial code” being circulated online, claiming to aid recovery from the global digital outage that struck on Friday. This outage, which affected media, retailers, banks, and airlines worldwide, was triggered by a botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Australia was among the many countries impacted by the widespread disruption. On Saturday, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) – the nation’s cyber intelligence body – highlighted the emergence of deceptive online resources purporting to assist in recovery efforts. “A number of malicious websites and unofficial code are being released claiming to help entities recover from the widespread outages caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident,” ASD stated.
The agency’s cybersecurity centre advised all consumers to rely solely on official CrowdStrike sources for technical information and updates. “Strongly encourage all consumers to source their technical information and updates from official CrowdStrike sources only,” the agency stressed on its website.
Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil also took to social media platform X on Saturday, urging Australians to “be on the lookout for possible scams and phishing attempts” in the wake of the outage.
Friday’s digital chaos hit the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), the country’s largest bank, leading to a temporary disruption in PayID payments for some customers, an issue that was subsequently resolved. National airline Qantas (QAN.AX) and Sydney Airport experienced flight delays, though operations continued.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reassured the public on Friday evening that there had been no impact on critical infrastructure, government services, or emergency phone systems.
CrowdStrike, a prominent cybersecurity provider with a market cap previously reaching about $83 billion, boasts nearly 30,000 subscribers globally. The incident underscores the pivotal role of cybersecurity firms in maintaining the integrity of digital services worldwide and highlights the need for vigilance against cyber threats in the aftermath of such disruptions.