| Recurring |
multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the financial aid tool for college students being used by hackers to steal money from the US government has not been explicitly mentioned to have happened again within the same organization or with its products and services in the provided article [58640].
(b) The article does mention that fraudulent tax returns and identity theft have been a growing issue for the IRS, with hackers finding more sophisticated ways to steal financial documents online. This indicates that similar incidents involving hackers targeting financial information may have occurred at other organizations or with their products and services [58640]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 58640 can be attributed to the design phase. The breach occurred due to hackers exploiting the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool, which was designed to allow parents to transfer financial information for their children using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The tool, which was intended to streamline the financial aid application process, inadvertently allowed hackers to pose as college students and automatically populate tax information for fraudulent tax returns, leading to the theft of $30 million from the IRS [58640].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident can also be linked to the operation phase. The tool was operational and in use by thousands of students when hackers managed to exploit it to steal tax information and file fraudulent returns. The IRS had to delay refunds for 52,000 taxpayers to verify legitimate requests, and ultimately shut down the tool after discovering the criminal activity. This highlights how the misuse of the operational system by hackers led to significant financial losses and identity theft risks for thousands of individuals [58640]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the financial aid tool for college students was caused by contributing factors that originated from within the system. The breach occurred within the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool, which was used by parents to transfer financial information for their kids using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid [58640].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident also involved contributing factors that originated from outside the system. Hackers were able to breach the tool and steal up to $30 million from the US government by posing as college students and using the stolen tax information to file fraudulent tax returns [58640]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 58640 occurred due to non-human actions. The failure was caused by hackers who breached the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool, allowing them to steal up to $30 million from the US government. The hackers were able to pose as college students and use the tool to automatically populate tax information for fraudulent tax returns, leading to the theft of funds [58640]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 58640 was primarily due to contributing factors originating in software. The incident involved hackers breaching the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool, a software tool used by parents to transfer financial information for their kids when applying for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The hackers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in the software to steal tax information and file fraudulent tax returns, resulting in the theft of up to $30 million from the IRS [58640]. The tool was disabled by the Department of Education and the IRS in response to the breach, indicating that the failure was related to software vulnerabilities rather than hardware issues. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 58640 was malicious. Hackers breached the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool with the intent to steal financial information and money from the US government. They posed as college students to file fraudulent tax returns and stole up to $30 million from the IRS [58640]. The incident resulted in identity theft for nearly 100,000 people and caused significant financial losses.
(b) The software failure incident was not non-malicious. There is no indication in the article that the failure was accidental or unintentional. The breach was a deliberate act by hackers to exploit the system for financial gain and identity theft. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the financial aid tool for college students being hacked and leading to the theft of $30 million from the US government can be attributed to poor decisions made by the IRS and the Department of Education.
The IRS delayed shutting down the tool despite learning about the breach in September 2016 because millions of students depended on it. This delay allowed hackers to continue exploiting the tool, posing as college students and stealing tax information to file fraudulent returns [58640].
Additionally, the tool was disabled during a critical time when students were applying for loans, impacting the efficiency of the financial aid process. The decision to disable the tool during this period could be seen as a poor decision that affected the students' ability to access financial aid seamlessly [58640]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as it mentions how hackers were able to exploit the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool, a financial aid tool for college students, to steal up to $30 million from the US government [58640]. This breach occurred due to a vulnerability in the tool that allowed hackers to pose as college students and automatically populate tax information for fraudulent tax refund requests. The fact that the tool was not secure enough to prevent such exploitation highlights a lack of professional competence in the development of the software.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is also apparent in the article. The IRS first learned about the breach in September 2016 but delayed shutting down the tool because millions of students depended on it [58640]. This delay in taking action to address the security vulnerability can be seen as an accidental factor contributing to the failure. Additionally, the article mentions that the agency delayed refunds from going out to 52,000 taxpayers until they could verify they're real requests, indicating a reactive response to the incident rather than a proactive one, which could be considered accidental in nature. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was temporary. The IRS's Data Retrieval Tool was disabled in March during a critical time when students were applying for loans and was not expected to return online until the fall [58640]. The tool was shut down as soon as there was any indication of criminal activity, which occurred through the early part of February [58640]. This indicates that the failure was not permanent but rather a temporary measure taken in response to the breach. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, timing, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash. The IRS's Data Retrieval Tool was shut down after hackers exploited it to steal tax information and file fraudulent tax returns, resulting in the loss of $30 million from the IRS [58640]. The tool was disabled during a critical time when students were applying for loans, and it was not expected to return online until the fall [58640].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be categorized as an omission. The breach in the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool led to the omission of the tool's intended function of securely transferring financial information for students and parents applying for financial aid [58640]. The IRS had to delay refunds for 52,000 taxpayers until verifying their requests, indicating an omission in the timely processing of tax refunds [58640].
(c) timing: The software failure incident can be associated with timing issues. The IRS first learned about the breach in September 2016 but delayed shutting down the tool because millions of students depended on it [58640]. The tool was eventually disabled in March, during a critical application period for students, indicating a timing failure in addressing the security issue promptly [58640].
(d) value: The software failure incident can be linked to a value failure. Hackers exploited the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool to steal tax information and file fraudulent tax returns, resulting in the loss of $30 million from the IRS [58640]. This indicates a failure in the system performing its intended functions correctly, leading to financial losses.
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not align with a byzantine failure, which involves inconsistent responses and interactions. The incident described in the article primarily focuses on the exploitation of the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool by hackers to steal tax information and file fraudulent tax returns, rather than erratic or inconsistent system behavior [58640].
(f) other: The software failure incident can be categorized as a security breach leading to financial loss. Hackers exploited the IRS's Data Retrieval Tool to steal tax information and file fraudulent tax returns, resulting in the loss of $30 million from the IRS [58640]. This incident highlights a failure in the system's security measures, allowing unauthorized access and misuse of sensitive financial data. |