UniSuper services fully restored

Wednesday 15 May, 2024

UniSuper can confirm that all member facing services have been fully restored, with our retirement calculators now available again.

This includes the ability to log in to online services, use our mobile app, view investment performance and place transaction requests.

Pension payments have been unaffected and are being paid as usual.

We again thank members for their patience, and we are very pleased to have services restored.

---

Monday 13 May, 2024

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

I am very pleased to share with you that our online services across both UniSuper’s website and mobile app have been restored.

Restoration update

Members are able to log in and view their balance, request investment switches, view investment performance, request withdrawals and more. We’re still restoring functionality of our retirement calculators, but this will be back soon.

Please note that account balances shown may not reflect transactions which have not yet been processed due to our recent system outage. We are processing transactions as quickly as we can, and additional resources have been put on to minimise delays. 

I’d like to thank all members for your patience and understanding through the restoration, particularly those who shared words of support with our teams in the contact centre. 

Our focus is now on processing requests and returning to usual operations as quickly as possible. As we move into this phase, members can access further updates on our website.

Ensuring smooth operations

We take our responsibility to provide reliable services to our members extremely seriously. 

We have engaged in rigorous testing through the restoration to ensure stable, secure services as members expect.

My team are conducting a full review of the incident to ensure that wherever possible we minimise the risk of disruption in the future. 

We will assess this incident and ensure we are best positioned to deliver services members expect and deserve.

We’re here to help

The teams in our contact centre and in-person around Australia are here to help. Should you have any queries or concerns, or need assistance with a request, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Members are at the core of everything we do. We are here to provide exceptional retirement outcomes for our members. For over forty years we have been delivering as a fund with low fees, strong long-term performance, and a deep connection to the higher education and research sector, and now all Australians. 

Thank you for being a UniSuper member.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Chun
Chief Executive Office, UniSuper

---

Monday 13 May, 2024

UniSuper services are now back online. Members are able to log in to their accounts via our website and our mobile app, lodge online transaction requests, view investment performance and more.
 
We’re still restoring functionality of our Retirement Savings Calculator and Retirement Income Calculator, but they’ll be back soon. We thank you for your patience.
 
Unprocessed transaction requests

Please note that estimated account balances may not reflect transactions which have not yet been processed due to our recent system outage. We are processing transactions as quickly as we can. Additional resources have been put on to minimise delays for members.
 
We’re here to help
 
Our contact centre is available to assist with member enquiries.
 
Thank you again for your understanding, particularly with our team in the contact centre.
 

---

Friday 10 May, 2024

UniSuper Chief Member and Advice Officer, Danielle Mair, has provided an update to members via email. Please find a copy of this email below:

We have made great progress towards getting all our systems back online. Members can log in to their accounts via Member Online, 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. My team are processing transactions as quickly as we can to minimise delays for members.

For members looking for help, please reach out to us. Many transactions can be easily lodged using forms through Member Online, or over the phone. Our contact centre is open additional hours this Saturday to assist members.

Restoration update

In addition to assisting members with transactions through the contact centre, today we have restored the ability for members to lodge superannuation digital lump-sum withdrawal requests through Member Online.

This process is easy to use, with most requests processed and paid swiftly and securely, usually within 5 business days.

We ask that members who have already submitted a form requesting withdrawal please do not submit a new form for the same request through this tool. If we receive a subsequent withdrawal request from you, it will be treated as a separate request, and you may receive an additional payment. If you have any queries, please get in touch with us.

Services will continue to be progressively brought online. Updated information on the restoration will be available on our website.

Thank you for your patience as we continue with the restoration of services.

Transaction Requests

As mentioned above, 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 and member online.

Mobile App and other services

We are working to get our app back online, building on progress with the Member Online platform. We are going through rigorous testing to ensure that once restored the app will remain stable and secure, as members expect.

We anticipate our app being operational again early next week, we will continue to provide updates on this on our website. Please note that all app functionality is available through logging in to Member Online on our website.

We’re here to help

My team in our contact centre are here to help.

We’re putting on additional resources, opening the contact centre this Saturday and processing outstanding member requests.

Our contact centre will be open from 8.30am to 2.30pm AEST this Saturday in addition to our usual contact hours.

Thank you again to all members for your patience, particularly with my team in the contact centre.

We look forward to having all systems restored soon.

Yours sincerely,
Danielle Mair
Chief Member and Advice Officer, UniSuper

---

Thursday 9 May, 2024

UniSuper Chief Member and Advice Officer, Danielle Mair, has provided an update to members via email. Please find a copy of this email below:

I’m writing to update members on the progressive restoration of our systems.

Restoration update

I’m pleased to share that as of midday today members have been able to login to their online UniSuper accounts.

All members can now see balances as at today’s date. Members will also be able to 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.

This is ahead of the timing we expected last night and we’re pleased to share this progress with members.

Services will continue to be progressively brought online. Updated information on the restoration will be available on our website.

Thank you for your patience as we continue with the restoration of services.

Transaction Requests

I appreciate that members are seeking ways to lodge transactions with us. 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 and member online.

Insurance Changes

We have written to members outlining changes to insurance cover from 1 June 2024. You can find a personalised communication in your digital inbox when you log in to online services. Members who are not registered for online services will have received this letter by post. The letter explains what this change means for you and how to take any action in advance of the change.

The cut-off to request any insurance changes online prior to 1 June was originally on Friday 10 May 2024.

Given our systems have been unavailable and are progressively being restored, we have extended this cut-off to 11:59pm AEST on Friday 17 May 2024.

If you have a link in your personalised letter, you can make changes by following the link. Members who do not have a link to follow are able to download and submit a form from our website.

We’re here to help

My team in the contact centre and in our on-site locations around Australia are here to help.

We’re putting on additional resources to minimise delays for members.

Our contact centre will be open additional hours this week, operating from 8.30am to 2.30pm AEST on Saturday in addition to our usual contact hours.

Thank you again to all members for your patience. We look forward to having all systems restored soon.

Yours sincerely,
Danielle Mair
Chief Member and Advice Officer, UniSuper

---

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 Kurian

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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. 

 

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: 17 May 2024

Yes, the Google Cloud incident did not compromise member funds. Google Cloud has assured us that this was not a cyber-attack.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

Our investments team was able to operate during the outage and continued to manage the fund's investments for the benefit of members.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

All online services, including the website and mobile app, are now fully restored. Please visit our contact us page for the various ways you can make a request.

Please note there may be some delays with requests and transactions. We're working diligently to process our backlog of member requests, and we've allocated extra resources to help achieve this as soon as possible.

Requests are being handled in the order they are received, with a focus on financial transactions as a priority. This applies to requests received before, during, or after the outage, with exceptions made to prioritise vulnerable members in hardship or compassionate release as per UniSuper’s usual criteria.

Please be assured we are finalising and processing these requests as quickly as possible. We understand the importance of this to our members.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

We’re prioritising processing lump sum withdrawal requests. We know this is incredibly important to our members.

Withdrawals are being processed in the order they are received, with exceptions made to prioritise vulnerable members in hardship or compassionate release as per UniSuper’s usual criteria.

To request a new withdrawal, use the superannuation withdrawal function through your online account. This process will generally be faster than sending a request via email.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

Please remember that you should only submit a request once, either by email or online, but not both. Submitting a duplicate request may result in duplicate transactions or cause a delay in processing.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

Members are now able to log in to their online account and request investment switches.

Investment switch requests that were made in writing during the outage are being processed in the order they were received. These requests are being backdated appropriately, and the investment switch will be treated as if there had been no outage.

That means requests received by email or post before 2pm on a Melbourne business day will be effective from the end of the following Melbourne business day, as per our usual process

Last updated: 17 May 2024

The outage did not disrupt pension payments, and they will continue to be paid as usual.

Last updated: 17 May 2024

We have written to members outlining changes to insurance cover from 1 June 2024. You can find personalised communication in your digital inbox when you log in to online services. Members who are not registered for online services will have received this letter by post. The letter explains what this change means for you and how to take any action in advance of the change.

The cut-off to request any insurance changes online prior to 1 June was originally on Friday 10 May 2024. Given our systems have been unavailable, we have extended this cut-off to 11:59pm AEST on Friday 17 May 2024.

If you have a link in your personalised letter, you can make changes by following the link. Members who do not have a link to follow are able to download and submit a form from our website.

Last updated: 17 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: 17 May 2024

UniSuper has and always will take our responsibility to deliver secure, reliable services to our members extremely seriously. 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.

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.

We will assess this incident and ensure we are best positioned to deliver services for our members.

Last updated: 17 May 2024