Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre has issued a warning to consumers and small businesses following a global Microsoft outage on Friday that saw 8.5 million computers impacted by systems problems caused by a software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

The warning advised against downloading unsolicited software or providing remote access to computers, which could potentially give scammers access to sensitive information, including bank accounts.

"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. "Anyone can be scammed, so it is important to be wary of any unsolicited contact that purports to provide assistance in the aftermath of a major event like this."

The outage saw flights grounded, broadcasters forced off air, and caused havoc for POS and banking systems, after the CrowdStrike update on Friday caused widespread issues such as Blue Screens of Death (BSOD), sudden shut downs, and other usability issues on Windows systems.

CrowdStrike clarified that the issue was not related to a cybersecurity incident or malicious activity. "All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority," said Founder and CEO George Kurtz. "We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this. I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you're engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives. Our blog and technical support will continue to be the official channels for the latest updates."

The issue affected customers running Falcon sensor for Windows version 7.11 and above, that were online between Friday, July 19, 2024 04:09 UTC and Friday, July 19, 2024 05:27 UTC.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe warned of criminals looking to take advantage of incidents like this CrowdStrike 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," said Lowe. She added,

"Nothing is more important to me than the trust and confidence that our customers and partners have put into CrowdStrike. As we resolve this incident, you have my commitment to provide full transparency on how this occurred and steps we're taking to prevent anything like this from happening again," said Kurtz.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said there had been a "huge amount of work" over the weekend to "get the economy back up and running", but warned that that knock-on effects could impact businesses for up to a fortnight.