UniSuper services update

Wednesday 8 May, 2024

UniSuper CEO, Peter Chun, has provided an update to members via email. Please find a copy of this email below:

I’m writing to update you on the restoration of UniSuper’s online services.

Once again I apologise for the disruption, and thank members for their patience as we work to get systems back online.

Importantly, member accounts are safe, this was not a cyber-attack, and no data was exposed to unauthorised third parties as a result of this outage.

Restoration update

From midday 9 May AEST, members will be able to login to their accounts on our website.

Estimated account balances may not reflect transactions which have not yet been processed due to the outage. Please be assured that updated balances will be reflected in accounts as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience.

I want to assure members that regular trading and investments have continued as normal throughout the outage. This usual investment activity will be reflected in your balance once our systems are fully restored. As investments have been unaffected by the outage, we have up-to-date investment options performance information on our website for members. This information is available along with our investment performance comparison tool, which is operational again.

Please note, transactions will not be possible through the online platform at this time.

Every effort from my team has been taken to get systems back online as quickly as possible, while maintaining safety and security. We are conducting rigorous systems testing to ensure that once services are online, they will be stable.

We will continue to keep members updated on progress, and our public web will have up-to-date information refreshed regularly.

Transaction Requests

I appreciate that members are seeking ways to lodge transactions with us. We’re here to help. While we get systems back online, members wishing to lodge transaction requests, including investment switches, can do so by submitting forms to us via our public web.

For members who need assistance, our contact centre is available.

Additional resources

To minimise further disruption to members, additional resources will be put in place to work through enquiries and member requests as quickly as possible, in a way that is fair and equitable.

What happened?

I have been in daily contact with Google Cloud to gain further clarity on the root cause of this outage, and to seek firm commitments this issue can never happen again. Google Cloud has been able to provide further details, and we have prepared a joint statement for UniSuper members. Please find it below.

A joint statement from UniSuper CEO Peter Chun, and Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kuria

UniSuper and Google Cloud understand the disruption to services experienced by members has been extremely frustrating and disappointing. We extend our sincere apologies to all members.

While supporting UniSuper to bring its systems back online, Google Cloud has been conducting a root cause analysis.

Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian has confirmed that the disruption arose from an unprecedented sequence of events whereby an inadvertent misconfiguration during provisioning of UniSuper’s Private Cloud services ultimately resulted in the deletion of UniSuper’s Private Cloud subscription.

This is an isolated, ‘one-of-a-kind occurrence’ that has never before occurred with any of Google Cloud’s clients globally. This should not have happened. Google Cloud has identified the events that led to this disruption and taken measures to ensure this does not happen again.

Why did the outage last so long?

UniSuper had duplication in two geographies as a protection against outages and loss. However, when the deletion of UniSuper’s Private Cloud subscription occurred, it caused deletion across both of these geographies.

Restoring UniSuper’s Private Cloud instance has called for an incredible amount of focus, effort, and partnership between our teams to enable an extensive recovery of all the core systems. The dedication and collaboration between UniSuper and Google Cloud has led to an extensive recovery of our Private Cloud which includes hundreds of virtual machines, databases and applications.

UniSuper had backups in place with an additional service provider. These backups have minimised data loss, and significantly improved the ability of UniSuper and Google Cloud to complete the restoration.

What’s next?

UniSuper and Google Cloud have been working around the clock on a resolution. The completion of the restoration swiftly, safely and securely remains Google Cloud and UniSuper’s top priority.

We’re here to help

We will keep you informed of further updates as we get systems back online. Additional FAQs are available on our website, and our contact centre is available to assist with member enquiries.

Thank you again for your understanding, particularly with our team in the contact centre.

We look forward to having all services fully online again soon.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Chun
Chief Executive Office, UniSuper

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Wednesday 8 May, 2024

UniSuper thanks members for their ongoing patience during this outage.

Once again our team, in partnership with Google Cloud, worked through the night and have made positive progress towards getting our systems back online.

We are on track for some member services to be online tomorrow, 9 May 2024 in a limited capacity. Some operations will be limited as we progress towards the full restoration - our contact centre as always will be available to assist members.

We will advise members on which services will be available, and in what capacity, later this evening and throughout tomorrow.

We again thank members for their patience and understanding, particularly with our contact centre, as we work to get systems back online swiftly, safely and securely.

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Tuesday 7 May, 2024

UniSuper CEO, Peter Chun, has provided an update to members via email. Please find a copy of this email below:

Firstly, thank you once again for your patience during this outage.

Our team, in partnership with Google Cloud, worked throughout last night and today, and have continued to make progress towards getting our systems back online.

Restoration of services

We remain on track for the progressive restoration of member services starting Thursday, 9 May 2024. Please note, as previously advised some services will still be limited as we continue the restoration.

Several FAQs are available on our website, and these are being refreshed regularly.

What happened?

Members have rightly been asking us what happened. Google Cloud has issued a statement today which confirms again that the fault originated within their service as a ‘one of its kind’, unprecedented occurrence. You can find this statement below.

A Statement from Google Cloud (7 May 2024)

The disruption of UniSuper services was caused by a combination of rare issues at Google Cloud that resulted in an inadvertent misconfiguration during the provisioning of UniSuper’s Private Cloud, which triggered a previously unknown software bug that impacted UniSuper’s systems. This was an unprecedented occurrence, and measures have been taken to ensure this issue does not happen again.

Google Cloud sincerely apologises for the inconvenience this has caused, and we continue to work around the clock with UniSuper to fully remediate the situation, with the goal of progressively restoring services as soon as possible. We would like to stress again that this was an isolated incident and not the result of a malicious behaviour or cyber-attack, and that no UniSuper data has been exposed to unauthorised parties.

We’re here to help

Please get in touch with our contact centre should you require support or your question isn't covered in the frequently asked questions published on our website.

We will keep you informed of further updates daily as we get systems back online, and thank you again for your understanding, particularly with our team in the contact centre.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Chun
Chief Executive Office, UniSuper

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Monday 6 May, 2024

UniSuper CEO, Peter Chun, has provided an update to members via email. Please find a copy of this email below:

I am writing to provide you with an update on the disruption to our services.

Firstly, let me begin by personally apologising for the outage, and thank you for your patience with our teams as they work around the clock to progressively get our systems back online.

As always, members are our top priority.

I would like to be very clear on some key points: member accounts are safe, and no data was exposed to unauthorised third parties as a result of this outage.

I would also like to reassure members that pension payments have not been disrupted and will continue as per normal. The next regular pension payment is scheduled on 15 May 2024, and is due in accounts by 17 May 2024.

We're here to help, so please get in touch with our contact centre should you require support or your question isn't covered in the frequently asked questions published on our website.

Update on restoration of services

The progressive restoration of member services will begin Thursday, 9 May 2024. Please note that some services will still be limited as we continue the restoration.

Services that we expect to have online in some capacity will include the ability to login to online services, access Mobile App, and see balances—initially as at Monday, 29 April 2024. As regular trading and investments have been continuing as normal, this will be reflected in your balance once our systems have been restored.

We will keep members informed as systems progressively come online. I commit to members receiving daily updates on the progressive restoration of services, and again thank you for your patience.

We have collated some frequently asked questions, including around lump sum withdrawals, investment switches and the operation of investments during this outage.

For up to date information, including answers to frequently asked questions, please visit our website.

What caused the technology outage?

Many members have rightly asked what exactly happened.

Google Cloud continues to investigate and gather information on the nature of this incident which caused an outage to our systems.

Let me stress that Google Cloud has provided clear assurance that this was not the result of a malicious act or cyber-attack, and UniSuper data has not been exposed to unauthorised parties because of this issue.

While a full root cause analysis is ongoing, Google Cloud has confirmed this is an isolated one-of-a-kind issue that has not previously arisen elsewhere. 

Google Cloud has confirmed that they are taking measures to ensure this issue does not happen again.

We take our responsibility to deliver secure, reliable services to our members extremely seriously. I would like to be clear that Google Cloud is not the only cloud service provider UniSuper utilises, and this planning has ensured our ability to restore services and minimise data loss.

Additional resources to support swift resumption of services

To minimise further disruption to our members as we come back online, we are putting on additional resources to work through all enquiries and member requests as quickly as possible once systems are operational again.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding, particularly with our team in the contact centre, as we work to restore services swiftly, safely and securely.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Chun

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Monday 6 May, 2024

UniSuper’s systems continue to be affected by an outage. We apologise for the disruption.

Teams from UniSuper and Google Cloud worked throughout the weekend to advance the restoration, including our contact centre which opened on Saturday to assist with member enquiries.

Further positive progress toward restoration was made and we are moving closer to having our systems back online. Again, we are working around the clock to advance this swiftly, safely and securely.

We have refreshed some of the FAQs available below and will begin to make it clearer when these were last updated following member feedback.

We will provide a more complete update later today. We again thank members for their patience.

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Friday 3 May, 2024

A joint statement from UniSuper and Google Cloud

UniSuper is experiencing a service disruption, which originated with one of UniSuper’s third-party cloud service providers, Google Cloud.

UniSuper thanks members for their patience and apologises for this experience.

We are working in partnership with Google Cloud around the clock to have services restored for members as soon as possible.

We’re not able to confirm a timeline for resolution at this stage, but will keep members informed.

Google Cloud has confirmed that the disruption is an isolated incident, not the result of a malicious act or cyber-attack, and UniSuper data has not been exposed to unauthorised parties as a result of this issue.

UniSuper has teams dedicated to assisting members who may be experiencing difficulty. They can be contacted during our operating hours on 1800 331 685.

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Thursday 2 May, 2024

You may be aware of a service disruption affecting UniSuper’s systems.

The issue originated from one of our third-party service providers, and we’re actively partnering with them to resolve this.

Our service provider assures us that the disruption is not the result of a malicious act or cyber attack, and no UniSuper data has been exposed to unauthorised parties as a result.

We appreciate that not being able to access your online account as usual is frustrating, and we apologise.

We’re working around the clock to get systems back online swiftly, safely and securely. We’ll let you know when full online access is restored to your account.

Thanks for your patience and understanding. 

 

A joint statement from UniSuper CEO Peter Chun, and Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian was issued on 8 May 2024:

UniSuper and Google Cloud understand the disruption to services experienced by members has been extremely frustrating and disappointing. We extend our sincere apologies to all members.

While supporting UniSuper to bring its systems back online, Google Cloud has been conducting a root cause analysis.

Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian has confirmed that the disruption arose from an unprecedented sequence of events whereby an inadvertent misconfiguration during provisioning of UniSuper’s Private Cloud services ultimately resulted in the deletion of UniSuper’s Private Cloud subscription.

This is an isolated, ‘one-of-a-kind occurrence’ that has never before occurred with any of Google Cloud’s clients globally. This should not have happened. Google Cloud has identified the events that led to this disruption and taken measures to ensure this does not happen again.

Why did the outage last so long?

UniSuper had duplication in two geographies as a protection against outages and loss. However, when the deletion of UniSuper’s Private Cloud subscription occurred, it caused deletion across both of these geographies.

Restoring UniSuper’s Private Cloud instance has called for an incredible amount of focus, effort, and partnership between our teams to enable an extensive recovery of all the core systems. The dedication and collaboration between UniSuper and Google Cloud has led to an extensive recovery of our Private Cloud which includes hundreds of virtual machines, databases and applications.

UniSuper had backups in place with an additional service provider. These backups have minimised data loss, and significantly improved the ability of UniSuper and Google Cloud to complete the restoration.

Last updated: 8 May 2024

Members can now log in to their accounts, view their balance and see the up-to-date investment performance for their accounts.

Please note, that account balances shown may not reflect transactions which have not yet been processed due to the outage. We are working to get these updated as quickly as possible.

Transactions will not be possible through the online platform at this time. We are working to progressively restore all functionality as quickly as possible and will keep members updated.

Last updated: 9 May 2024

Google Cloud has confirmed to UniSuper that the disruption was not a result of malicious action or cyber-attack, and no UniSuper data has been exposed to unauthorised parties as a result of this issue.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

Yes, member funds were not compromised by the Google Cloud incident. Google Cloud have assured us that this was not a cyber-attack.

Our investment team have been able to operate during this outage and continues to manage the fund's investments for the benefit of members. We acknowledge members are currently not able to transact on their accounts. We are working to fix this.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

The investments team has been able to operate during this outage and continues to manage the fund's investments for the benefit of members.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

We are here to help. Please visit https://www.unisuper.com.au/contact-us for the various ways you can make a request.

Please note, some services are currently not available. We are finalising how we are able to process member requests during this time in a way that is fair and equitable for members, as you expect and deserve.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

We will prioritise the processing of lump sum withdrawal requests when our systems are back up and running. Please be assured we will finalise and process these requests as quickly as possible. We know this is incredibly important to our members.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

Requests for investment switches provided to us in writing will be processed with regard to the date they arrived with us, once our systems are back online. That is to say, they will be backdated appropriately and the investment switch treated as if we had not had an outage.

That means requests which arrived to us by email or post before 2pm on a Melbourne business day will be effective from the end of the next Melbourne business day, as per our usual process.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

Pension payments have not been disrupted and will continue as per normal. The next regular pension payment is scheduled on 15 May 2024, and is due in accounts by 17 May 2024.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

In this case, a cloud service provider is a company that provides scalable computing resources over the internet. These resources include servers, data storage, and applications. Cloud service providers are very common, as it allows business to utilise high-quality, scalable IT services without needing to establish their own data centres. Common cloud providers include Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services.

Last updated: 6 May 2024

Organisations like UniSuper choose to utilise cloud service providers for a number of reasons.

UniSuper looked to factors including increased flexibility, improved scalability, heightened security and easier access to ongoing technical innovation.

For example, a cloud service provider allows us to dynamically increase service capacity, improving performance during periods of high member activity such as end of financial year.

It also allows UniSuper to focus on its core business, rather than try replicate the capabilities of more technically orientated IT organisations like Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

Many major Australian companies rely upon Google Cloud infrastructure, including JB Hi-Fi, ANZ Bank, Canva, Australia Post, Service NSW and more.

Last updated: 7 May 2024

All of our services provided by Google Cloud, including data, are hosted within Australia.

Last updated: 7 May 2024

UniSuper takes our responsibility to provide reliable services to our members extremely seriously. Our focus is on getting systems back online swiftly, safely and securely.

We are concurrently working closely with Google Cloud on finalising a full root cause analysis. Google Cloud has confirmed that this was an unprecedented, isolated occurrence, and that measures have been taken to ensure this issue does not happen again. We will assess this incident and ensure we are best positioned to deliver services for our members.

Last updated: 7 May 2024