Telstra has attributed a major network outage that occurred last Wednesday to the failure to apply a critical software update to one of its network time protocol servers. Chief Executive Vicki Brady provided testimony to a Senate inquiry, disclosing that the incident affected 45% of all calls and data sessions on the carrier’s network when service went down shortly before 4:30am AEST.
The outage was traced to a Microchip-manufactured server known as the SSU 2000, installed in Melbourne as part of a trio of time-keeping devices located in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. During scheduled maintenance involving faulty backup power replacement, the server restarted with an incorrect date of 2006 instead of the current year. Telstra executives confirmed that the manufacturer had issued software update notifications in 2022 and again in January, but the company had not implemented the patches. Had the update been applied, the incident may have been preventable, according to testimony.
The timing error propagated across Telstra’s network infrastructure over subsequent hours, causing authentication certificates on interconnected systems to become invalid. This cascading effect prevented customers from authenticating to the network, resulting in intermittent service loss for voice calls and mobile data across the carrier’s customer base. The situation was further complicated by an undocumented design change that maintenance personnel were unaware of, which affected how the server would respond when restarted.
Telstra stated that the outage was not attributable to insufficient network redundancy, as the other two time protocol servers functioned as intended during the Melbourne device’s maintenance window. However, the company acknowledged that when the faulty server came back online with incorrect date information, downstream systems that depend on accurate timing for security and authentication processes accepted the erroneous data. Brady expressed that the company fell short of public expectations and stated Telstra was taking full accountability for the incident.
The company indicated it has initiated an investigation into why the critical design modification lacked proper documentation and why the recommended software update was never completed. Telstra has committed to compensating affected customers, with Brady noting that most would receive credit-based reimbursement. As of the inquiry date, approximately 8,000 claims had been filed out of nearly 9 million affected customers, with about $100,000 distributed in payouts during the preceding week.