<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The chairman and CEO of embattled telco </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/optus" rel="" target="_blank" title="Optus'"><span>Optus</span></a><span>have been grilled at a Senate inquiry into the catastrophic </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/three-people-dead-after-optus-triple-zero-failure-which-impacted-hundreds-of-calls/a34d3d7a-6447-4aba-8784-a8c823f2922f" rel="" target="_blank" title="triple-zero failure"><span>triple-zero failure</span></a><span> that left three people dead.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Human error during a firewall upgrade in September led to an outage in multiple states and territories, which led to customers being unable to call the emergency line.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaking at a Senate inquiry today, Optus CEO Stephen Rue admitted the mistakes made by the telco during and immediately after the outage.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/darwin-quad-bike-crash-11-year-old-dead/f7ee14a9-f392-4833-b33e-7e44cad5321b" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Boy, 11, killed in quad bike crash on Darwin mango farm</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is no doubt that the timeline shows there were delays, there were mistakes made," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The tragic deaths of people during this outage stay with us as individuals and as a company as we investigate the incident.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I fully accept there are aspects to the way events unfolded and how they were communicated over September 18 and 19 that we should have handled better."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/optus-triple-zero-outage-senate-inquiry-stephen-rue/542c15b4-fd40-4a19-8bb6-95d46984299b" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rue said correct steps and procedures were not followed after the company became aware of the outage and admitted that despite the offshore call centre believing the network hadn't failed, the issue should have been escalated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This was a unique situation whereby the call centre people believed the network was not failing, but they should have escalated those calls," Rue said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The initial mistake, a human error, occurred when the wrong process plan was selected for a routine firewall upgrade. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The selected plan did not divert traffic before locking equipment inside the exchange that routes triple-zero calls.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This error was not detected because control steps were not followed and alarms were not acted on at the time."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/former-prince-andrew-to-lose-final-military-title-uk-minister-says/9604e14d-bd11-4841-a2e0-cc0b78094a2c" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Former prince Andrew to lose final military title</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rue insisted this was "an explanation, not an excuse".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also insisted the company had not been misleading in its delay in confirming how many calls were impacted in the outage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I wouldn't characterise it as misleading, it was information as we knew it at the time," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Sadly, it turned out to be different, we accept that."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cctv-shows-moment-man-kidnapped-off-sydney-street/63c18366-c89e-418d-9ba7-476ff7dc392f" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Shock CCTV shows moment man is snatched off the street in Sydney</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fallout has been disastrous for Optus, with the triple-zero failure the latest in a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/optus-outage-updates-two-years-of-hell-snowballs-to-multimilliondollar-hit-on-fragile-brand/72fd69ae-ef6f-4859-9ed3-7981411ff328" rel="" target="_blank" title="long line of incidents and issues"><span>long line of incidents and issues</span></a><span> at the company over the last three years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rue, who came into the company in 2023 after previous CEO Kelly Rosmarin resigned in the wake of a nationwide outage, is also under increased pressure to keep his job.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/optus-executives-gone-triple-zero-outage/7e64e8db-87e8-4d61-a8ec-896e95d81d76" rel="" target="_blank" title="Two Optus executives"><span>Two Optus executives</span></a><span> have already announced their departure, but Rue received an endorsement from Optus chairman John Arthur.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There were I think 10 failures here, 10 failures. And if you're asking me whether I am alarmed at that, I can assure you I am," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"However, this man was brought into this company to make sure we became a company that didn't have 10 failures like that. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Now that's his job, and I'm expecting him to finish it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/family-financial-help-heating-up-housing-market-finder-survey/ef0be735-9f2d-4a88-a7b0-31c7b642a38f" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>The concerning factor believed to be behind surging house prices</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rue said it was not the right time for him to step away from the company.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I firmly believe that another change of leader at this time is not what Optus needs, or what our customers need," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Optus has been criticised for having critical infrastructure and call centres located offshore, and Rue said the company had made changes as a result of the triple-zero failure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We will take back calls that relate to triple-zero calls and relate to vulnerable customers… and ensure that they are dealt with onshore in Australia. And we're in the process of doing exactly that," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our contact centre procedures have been overhauled, including a mandatory escalation process for any customer reports of triple-zero issues."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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