Optus claims traffic not redirected from firewall before upgrade

A firewall upgrade at Optus resulted in a significant failure of Triple Zero calls for 13 hours, primarily due to a deviation from internal traffic routing guidance and processes. CEO Stephen Rue stated that the established playbook for a “successful upgrade,” based on previous experiences, was not adhered to. The critical initial step of diverting calls away from the affected part of the core network was overlooked. Rue explained that the correct procedure involves diverting traffic, locking the equipment behind the firewall, safely upgrading the firewall, and then unlocking and re-diverting the traffic back. The upgrade, initially scheduled to span two nights, was rolled back after the issue was identified.

Rue acknowledged that Optus is accountable for the incident, despite a third-party being involved in the upgrade process, which was managed by a joint team from Australia and Chennai. Of the 631 customers who attempted to make emergency calls, approximately 480 were unsuccessful, while 86 managed to connect through the Optus network, and 65 were able to use Telstra or TPG infrastructure. Rue refrained from speculating on the potential impact of this incident on customer subscriber numbers or his own position. The update coincided with Optus appointing Dr Kerry Schott to review the situation and an apology from Optus’ parent company, Singtel.