“Inventory all GlobalProtect deployments today and prioritize patching CVE-2026-0257 for your highest-risk clients before end of week.”
M365 Search Outage: Deployment Bug Kills SharePoint, OneDrive & Outlook Search (17 Aug)
A faulty deployment introduced a resource utilisation inefficiency causing some users to be unable to search for content in SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Outlook on the web, and Outlook desktop from 17 August 2026. Microsoft identified the root cause and began deploying a fix to reduce resource pressure. Check the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for your incident tracking ID; no workaround was published beyond waiting for the fix rollout.
Read more →Azure Reported Down Again — 14 August AEST Morning Spike
DownDetector AU recorded a spike in Azure outage reports around 11:07 AM AEST on 14 August 2026, with users also flagging issues on StatusGator. Microsoft has not published a detailed PIR for this event at time of writing. Admins should monitor the Azure Service Health dashboard for an active tracking ID.
Read more →Critical RCE in Remote Desktop Client (CVE-2026-62824, CVSS 8.8) Patched August 2026
August Patch Tuesday also addressed CVE-2026-62824, a critical remote code execution vulnerability in the Remote Desktop Client with a CVSS score of 8.8. While exploitation in the wild has not been confirmed, the high severity and wide deployment of RDP clients makes this a priority patch for MSPs managing Windows endpoints. Apply the August 2026 cumulative update to all Windows clients as soon as possible.
Read more →Palo Alto GlobalProtect CVE-2026-0257 Actively Exploited by Qilin Ransomware Operators
Arctic Wolf has investigated multiple ransomware incidents where threat actors exploited CVE-2026-0257, a Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect authentication bypass vulnerability, to gain initial access and rapidly deploy Qilin ransomware. Attackers followed with credential theft, lateral movement, remote access tool deployment, and data exfiltration before encrypting victim environments. Patch GlobalProtect immediately and validate that no unauthorised access occurred prior to patching, as session tokens may persist.
Read more →GTIA ChannelCon 2026: Over a Third of AU/NZ IT Providers Now Generating AI Revenue
GTIA's ChannelCon 2026 event in August highlighted that over a third of IT solution providers in Australia and New Zealand are generating up to 10% of revenue through AI products and services, signalling rapid commercialisation of AI within the channel. The event also emphasised that partnerships and trust are becoming increasingly critical as MSP responsibilities expand with AI adoption. AU MSPs should assess whether they have a structured AI services offering or risk clients seeking AI enablement elsewhere.
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