Home / Business and Economy / Telstra Admits Network Outage Was Preventable
Telstra Admits Network Outage Was Preventable
17 Jul
Summary
- A software update could have prevented the widespread network disruption.
- Internal controls were insufficient, leading to a major service failure.
- A GPS card reset the network timing server's date to 2006.
Telstra has acknowledged that a significant network outage, impacting hundreds of Triple Zero calls and national services, could have been avoided. The telecommunications giant stated that its internal controls were insufficient to prevent the failure.
The incident began on July 7 when a technician replaced the chassis of a network timing server at an Exhibition Street exchange in Melbourne. Upon restoring power early on July 8, a GPS card within the device malfunctioned, causing the server to reset its date to 2006. This incorrect date then propagated through the network, invalidating authentication certificates and leading to widespread outages.
Telstra attributed the event to an undocumented design change made to the equipment previously. This oversight meant the maintenance team was unaware of the device's behavior during a restart, ultimately causing the critical system failure.
