Google Cloud publishes the account of how UniSuper's private cloud was deleted

2024-05-24 · Publisher : Google Cloud · Domain : Cloud & DevOps

Google explains that a blank parameter at provisioning led to the automatic deletion, after one year, of pension fund UniSuper's VMware private cloud. Its third-party backups made recovery possible.

### Background On 24 May 2024, Google Cloud published the account of the incident that hit Australian pension fund **UniSuper**. The customer's **Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) private cloud** was deleted automatically. The cause: when provisioning, a Google operator left a parameter blank in an internal tool, and the system assigned a fixed one-year term by default. At the end of the term, the private cloud was deleted without notifying the customer. ### Key facts - One customer, in one region, with one GCVE private cloud, according to Google; other services and customers were not affected. - UniSuper's geo-redundant backups on Google Cloud Storage were not affected and were decisive for restoration, supplemented by third-party backup software. - Recovery involved round-the-clock teams for several days. - Google's measures: retiring the faulty internal tool (provisioning is now automated and customer-controlled), a manual audit of all GCVE private clouds, and a fix to the system behaviour. ### Why it matters The incident is a reminder that backing up at a single provider does not protect against the provider's own mistake. Independent copies are what saved UniSuper. For IT leaders, it justifies testing restoration from a copy held outside the main platform, and reading the term and automatic-deletion clauses of contracts and tooling. ### Takeaway A configuration error at the host erased an entire environment; only independent backups made it possible to rebuild it.

Tags : Incident, Google Cloud, Multi-cloud, Cloud