A top national security official warned months ago that the country's reliance on Microsoft risked a "disproportionate impact" if the tech company suffered an outage.
And just last week, the federal government ran a simulation of a cyber security incident with its agencies and private companies, including Microsoft, to identify and prepare their responses in the event of a crisis.
Speaking on a podcast in August, Home Affairs national security head, Hamish Hansford, referenced Australia's deep reliance on Microsoft services, and directly warned of a "disproportionate impact" if the company was hit by an outage.
"[Big tech providers] underpin our national security. They underpin the functioning of the economy, and they are individually important for how we operate," he said.
Mr Hansford's comments — and the cybersecurity simulation — follow numerous recent reports and alerts by government agencies of the potentially "catastrophic" consequences of outages from major tech suppliers like Microsoft, which secured more than $1 billion in federal government contracts this year.
Both the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) confirmed they were impacted by today’s outage, along with millions of Australians.
A government-commissioned review released in February highlighted how dependence on a small number of technology suppliers could threaten critical services.
