| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to a critical security flaw in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system, discovered by researcher James Forshaw, highlights a vulnerability that could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system [22372].
(b) The incident sheds light on the common practice of outsourcing vulnerability testing to external researchers due to the scale of the task involved and the need to step back and look at the entire product and its interactions to find higher-level vulnerabilities. This approach is not unique to Microsoft but is a strategy employed by various organizations facing similar challenges in identifying and addressing software flaws [22372]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where a critical security flaw was found in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. The flaw, a "mitigation bypass," was a hack that circumvented the protection systems built into Windows 8.1, potentially allowing hackers widespread access to the system [22372].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where the researcher, James Forshaw, mentioned that sometimes Microsoft's security department, which actively looks for software flaws in its products, can be too close to the product to see higher-level vulnerabilities like the mitigation bypass he discovered. This highlights how operational factors, such as being too immersed in the product, can contribute to software failures [22372]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident in this case was due to a critical security flaw found within Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. The flaw, known as a "mitigation bypass," was a vulnerability that could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system [22372]. Microsoft's senior security strategist mentioned strengthening platform-wide mitigations to make it harder to exploit bugs in all software running on their platform, indicating an internal focus on improving security within the system [22372].
(b) outside_system: The incident involved an external researcher, James Forshaw, who discovered the security flaw in Microsoft's software. Microsoft paid him a bounty for finding the flaw, highlighting the involvement of an external party in identifying the vulnerability [22372]. Additionally, Forshaw mentioned the necessity of using outside experts due to the scale of the task involved and the limited resources within Microsoft's security department, indicating the reliance on external researchers to identify vulnerabilities originating from outside the system [22372]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was due to non-human actions, specifically a critical security flaw found in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. The flaw was a "mitigation bypass" discovered by the researcher James Forshaw from the security firm Context [22372].
(b) Human actions also played a role in this incident as the flaw was discovered by James Forshaw, a human researcher, who actively looked for vulnerabilities in Microsoft's products. Microsoft also acknowledged the importance of outside experts like Forshaw in finding software flaws due to the challenges of being too close to the product and the need to step back and look at the entire product for higher-level vulnerabilities [22372]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to a critical security flaw found in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. The flaw was a "mitigation bypass" discovered by the researcher James Forshaw from the security firm Context. This flaw could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system, indicating a failure originating from hardware [22372].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to a vulnerability in the software itself. Despite Microsoft having an extensive security department actively looking for software flaws, vulnerabilities like the mitigation bypass found by Forshaw still existed. Forshaw mentioned that bugs and vulnerabilities shouldn't exist in the first place, but humans are fallible and perfect code cannot be written, indicating a failure originating from software [22372]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is related to a malicious objective. The incident involved a critical security flaw in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system, which was discovered by a researcher named James Forshaw. Forshaw found a "mitigation bypass" hack that could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system, indicating that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by humans with the intent to harm the system [22372]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- The software failure incident in this case was not due to poor decisions but rather due to a critical security flaw found by a researcher, James Forshaw, in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system [22372].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
- The software failure incident can be attributed to accidental decisions or unintended consequences as the security flaw found by James Forshaw was not intentionally placed in the system but was a vulnerability that could have allowed hackers widespread access [22372]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as it discusses how a critical security flaw was found in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. The flaw, a "mitigation bypass," was discovered by a researcher from the security firm Context, highlighting a gap in the development process that allowed hackers potential widespread access to the system [22372].
(b) The article also touches on accidental factors contributing to the software failure incident. Forshaw, the researcher who found the flaw, mentioned that despite the $100,000 bounty, it was not a significant sum and that most of it goes to the company. This implies that the discovery of the flaw was not intentional but rather a result of the researcher's expertise and effort in vulnerability testing [22372]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is more of a temporary nature. The security flaw found by James Forshaw in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system was a critical vulnerability that could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system. This flaw was a result of a "mitigation bypass" - a hack that circumvented the protection systems built into Windows 8.1. Forshaw mentioned that it took him three and a half weeks to find the flaw, indicating that it was a specific vulnerability introduced by certain circumstances rather than a permanent failure inherent in the software [22372]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The article does not mention any instance of a system crash where the software completely loses state and fails to perform any of its intended functions.
(b) omission: The article does not mention any instance of the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s).
(c) timing: The article does not mention any instance of the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident mentioned in the article is related to a critical security flaw found in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system. This flaw could have allowed hackers widespread access to the system, indicating a failure in performing its intended functions correctly in terms of security [22372].
(e) byzantine: The article does not mention any instance of the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The software failure incident described in the article falls under the category of a security flaw or vulnerability, which is not explicitly covered in the provided options. This can be considered as a failure related to system security, where the software fails to provide the necessary protection against potential threats and attacks. |