Last May 2024, a configuration error in Google Cloud resulted in the accidental deletion of UniSuper's account and data, valued at AU$135 billion. This incident affected 64,000 members of 37 Australian universities, highlighting the scale of vulnerability faced by even the largest and most well-structured organizations.
UniSuper is one of Australia's largest pension funds
It provides financial services to employees in the higher education and research sector. The organization manages critical data, including pension funds, investment details, members' personal information, and essential financial data. The deletion of this data not only paralyzed UniSuper's operations for two weeks, but also put the company's confidence of its members in the security and reliability of their retirement funds.
The incident seriously affected the day-to-day life of UniSuper and its members. During the period when the data was inaccessible, members were unable to view their balance sheets, make changes to their investments, view their investment performance, or request withdrawals. This prolonged outage underscored the importance of having robust backup systems and contingency plans. According to The Register, although UniSuper had data mirroring in two geographies to protect against loss, the removal of the private cloud subscription affected both locations, proving that even the best precautions can fail in the face of unforeseen errors.
The response and collaboration between Google Cloud and UniSuper were critical to the recovery. The CEOs of both organizations issued a joint apology, assuring members that steps had been taken to prevent such an incident from happening again. The full restoration of the data was a monumental effort, including the recovery of hundreds of virtual machines, databases, and applications critical to UniSuper's operations. The existence of backups at another provider was critical to minimizing data loss and restoring services more quickly, as TechStory highlighted in its analysis of the incident.
Resilience and risk management
At Proportione, we understand the importance of technological resilience and effective risk management. To mitigate these types of risks in our projects, we implemented several key strategies. First, we establish robust and diversified backup systems, ensuring that critical data is duplicated across multiple geographic locations and with Different cloud service providers . This ensures that in the event of a supplier failure, data can be quickly retrieved from another source.
In addition, we conduct regular audits and tests of our backup and recovery systems to ensure they are working properly when they are needed most. These tests include simulations of failures and disasters to identify potential weaknesses and continuously improve our contingency strategies.
The continuous training of our staff is another cornerstone of Our strategy . We ensure that our teams are trained in risk management and disaster recovery best practices, and that they fully understand the technology systems and processes they use. This includes regular trainings and updates on new technologies and emerging threats.
We also promote a culture of transparency and open communication, especially during critical incidents. Keeping all team members informed and prepared to act quickly is essential for effective recovery and for minimizing the impact on operations and customer trust.
Finally, we take a proactive approach in managing the configuration and monitoring of our cloud systems. We use advanced monitoring and alerting tools to detect and fix misconfigurations before they can cause serious problems. This constant vigilance allows us to maintain a high level of security and reliability in our services.
The UniSuper incident with Google Cloud is a powerful reminder of the importance of careful and proactive management of technology and data. At Proportione, we are committed to learning from these events and implementing best practices to ensure that our projects are resilient, safe, and prepared for any eventuality.