Telstra network outage linked to missed systemic warnings
A review into Telstra’s major nationwide mobile network outage in July reveals that the company missed critical warnings regarding systemic risks. The failure was traced to the Network Time Protocol (NTP).
On July 8 at 2:50 am, a GPS card in a Melbourne equipment room reset to November 2006 following a power supply swap. This caused a cascade of clock errors across the network. The resulting disruption halted trains in Victoria and New South Wales, disabled EFTPOS payment systems, and prevented hundreds of callers from reaching Triple Zero emergency services.
Research published in August of the previous year by the University of Technology Sydney, titled ‘Failures and Resilience in the IP Era’, had warned about the vulnerability of modern networks that rely on a small number of sovereign functions. The paper, which received funding from the federal communications department, argued that the failure of a single function, such as NTP, can cause entire systems to collapse.
Entities
Melbourne · Telstra · University of Technology Sydney · Vicki Brady · Victoria
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 2 SOURCES] The outage caused trains to stop in Victoria and New South Wales, disrupted EFTPOS services, and prevented hundreds of people from reaching Triple Zero emergency services. www.theage.com.au · www.smh.com.au
- [● 2 SOURCES] Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney published a paper titled ‘Failures and Resilience in the IP Era’ in August of the previous year. www.theage.com.au · www.smh.com.au
- [● 2 SOURCES] The failure of the Network Time Protocol (NTP) was the cause of the Telstra outage. www.theage.com.au · www.smh.com.au
- [● 2 SOURCES] A GPS card in a Melbourne equipment room reset to November 2006 following a power supply swap on July 8 at 2:50 am. www.theage.com.au · www.smh.com.au
- [● 2 SOURCES] Telstra published a review regarding its major network outage in July. www.theage.com.au · www.smh.com.au