In a rare and bizarre incident, Google Cloud, one of the largest cloud service providers globally, made an unprecedented mistake in May 2024 by accidentally deleting the cloud account of an Australian pension fund, UniSuper, which manages approximately $125 billion in assets. This mishap disrupted the services for over half a million members, leaving them unable to access their accounts for a week.
UniSuper, a major Australian pension fund, had shifted its data to Google Cloud as part of its technological upgrade. However, during routine maintenance and provisioning, Google Cloud made an “inadvertent misconfiguration” that led to the deletion of UniSuper’s private cloud subscription.
This subscription deletion caused widespread panic among UniSuper members. The deletion affected the fund’s services across multiple regions, rendering their online systems inaccessible. Members were unable to view or manage their accounts, and for several days, their pension investments appeared to be missing entirely.
Recognizing the severity of the mistake, both Google Cloud and UniSuper took immediate steps to restore the data and services. Google Cloud’s CEO, Thomas Kurian, and UniSuper’s CEO, Peter Chun, issued a joint statement acknowledging the error and assuring the public that the disruption was an isolated event. Kurian described the incident as a “one-of-a-kind occurrence” and apologized for the disruption.
Google Cloud also launched an internal investigation to understand the root cause of the deletion and took steps to prevent such errors in the future. They emphasized that the error occurred during the provisioning of UniSuper’s private cloud services and was a result of an unprecedented sequence of events. Both companies assured that no personal or sensitive member data was compromised during the incident.
For over a week, UniSuper members were left in a state of uncertainty. Without access to their accounts, many feared the worst—that their investments had been lost or compromised. Fortunately, UniSuper had taken precautions and maintained backups with a different service provider, which played a crucial role in restoring services more quickly.
The process of restoring services began a few days after the deletion, but the investment balances took additional time to reflect correctly. UniSuper’s CEO, Peter Chun, communicated directly with members, reassuring them that their funds were safe and explaining the steps being taken to fully restore the system.
UniSuper is one of Australia’s largest pension funds, managing the retirement savings of over 500,000 members, primarily from the higher education and research sectors. The fund is worth approximately $125 billion, making it a major player in Australia’s superannuation system. In recent years, UniSuper had been undergoing technological advancements to improve its services, which included migrating much of its data to Google Cloud.
The fund’s decision to move to Google Cloud in 2023 was part of a broader strategy to modernize its infrastructure, enhance security, and improve service delivery for its members. However, this incident has highlighted the risks involved in relying on cloud service providers, especially when it comes to critical financial data.
Google Cloud is one of the top cloud computing platforms in the world, competing with other giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. These platforms are essential for businesses, governments, and organizations, providing scalable computing power, storage, and other digital services.
For many businesses, cloud services offer numerous benefits, such as cost savings, flexibility, and security. However, as this incident demonstrates, even the most advanced systems are not immune to mistakes. The deletion of UniSuper’s account was an extremely rare event, but it serves as a reminder of the potential risks associated with cloud technology.
After the deletion, UniSuper and Google Cloud worked closely to restore the lost data. Although most of the pension fund’s services were back online within a week, the process of fully restoring all functions, including real-time updates of account balances, took longer.
UniSuper assured its members that their personal information and investments were not at risk and that the company’s internal backups, maintained with a different service provider, helped mitigate the impact of the outage. While the technical recovery process was underway, members were kept informed through regular updates from the fund’s leadership.
This incident has prompted both UniSuper and Google Cloud to review their practices. Google Cloud, in particular, has taken steps to ensure that such an event does not happen again. This includes stricter safeguards during cloud provisioning, enhanced training for staff, and more robust error-checking mechanisms.
UniSuper, on the other hand, has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the security of its members’ investments. They are exploring additional ways to diversify their cloud and data storage strategies, ensuring that no single service provider holds critical data without comprehensive backup solutions.
The accidental deletion of UniSuper’s account from Google Cloud is a reminder of how even the most secure and reliable systems can experience unforeseen problems. While the situation was resolved without any loss of data, it highlighted the importance of robust data backup systems and the need for cloud service providers to maintain the highest levels of vigilance.
For Google Cloud, this incident is a rare blemish on its reputation, but it also serves as a valuable learning opportunity. Both UniSuper and Google Cloud have assured their customers that they are taking the necessary steps to prevent such a disruption from happening again. For now, members of UniSuper can rest easy knowing their investments are secure, but this incident will likely be remembered as one of the most unusual and costly cloud service errors in recent history.
