| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident happened again at Equifax. The article reports that Equifax faced a fresh data security breach in its Argentine operations, where an online employee tool could be accessed by typing "admin" as both a login and password, giving access to sensitive records [63163].
(b) The software failure incident involving weak security practices has not been explicitly mentioned to have happened at other organizations in the provided article. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the Equifax incident in Argentina where a significant security breach occurred due to a weakly guarded web application. The cyber-crime blogger Brian Krebs highlighted that an online employee tool in Argentina could be accessed by simply typing "admin" as both a login and password, providing unauthorized access to records containing thousands of customers' national identity numbers. This design flaw in the system's security allowed for a breach that compromised sensitive data [63163].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the Equifax case where the discovered vulnerability in an internal portal in Argentina was not connected to the cyber-security event in the United States. The breach was due to operational factors as the system was left with a basic security vulnerability, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information. This operational oversight led to the exposure of personal data of thousands of individuals [63163]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident related to Equifax having 'admin' as the login and password in Argentina can be categorized as within_system failure. The incident involved a weakly guarded web application within Equifax's local business Veraz, where an online employee tool could be accessed by typing "admin" as both a login and password, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive records [63163]. The vulnerability was internal to the system and was not connected to the cyber-security event that occurred in the United States [63163]. The incident highlighted a lack of proper security measures within the system, such as using easily guessable passwords and having sensitive information exposed due to poor security practices within the software system. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
The software failure incident in Equifax's Argentine operations was due to a vulnerability in an internal portal where an online employee tool could be accessed by typing "admin" as both a login and password. This allowed access to records containing thousands of customers' national identity numbers [63163].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
The software failure incident in Equifax's Argentine operations was a result of human actions as the weak security measures were implemented by using the easily guessable password combination "admin/admin" for the web application. Additionally, the employees' usernames and passwords were easily guessable based on their last names or a combination of their surname and first initial [63163]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The software failure incident reported in the article does not directly point to any hardware-related issues. The incident primarily revolves around a data security breach in Equifax's Argentine operations due to weak login credentials and poorly guarded web applications [63163].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The software failure incident in the article is attributed to software-related factors. Specifically, the incident involved a vulnerability in an internal portal in Argentina, where an online employee tool could be accessed by using "admin" as both a login and password. This software flaw allowed unauthorized access to sensitive customer data, indicating a software-related failure [63163]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Equifax breach in Argentina was non-malicious. The incident involved a serious security vulnerability where an online employee tool in Argentina could be accessed by using "admin" as both the login and password, giving unauthorized access to sensitive customer data. This vulnerability was discovered by cyber-security researchers at Hold Security, and it was described as a case of sloppy security practices by Equifax. The incident was not attributed to malicious intent but rather to a lack of proper security measures and oversight [63163].
(b) The Equifax breach in Argentina was a non-malicious software failure incident. The security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to sensitive customer data was due to weak security practices and poor password management, rather than a deliberate attempt to harm the system. The incident highlighted the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and proper data protection protocols to prevent such breaches [63163]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to Equifax having 'admin' as both the login and password in their Argentine operation can be attributed to poor decisions. This incident was a result of a poor decision in setting up the security measures for the online employee tool used in Argentina, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive customer data by simply typing "admin" as the login and password [63163]. The incident highlighted a lack of proper security protocols and practices, indicating poor decision-making in safeguarding sensitive information. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the Equifax case in Argentina. The incident involved a serious security breach where an online employee tool used in Argentina could be accessed by simply typing "admin" as both a login and password [63163]. This lack of professional competence in setting up basic security measures led to unauthorized access to records containing sensitive customer information, including national identity numbers. Additionally, the weak security measures in place, such as using easily guessable password combinations like "admin/admin," demonstrated a lack of professional competence in securing the system [63163].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is also present in the Equifax case. The discovery of the vulnerability in the internal portal in Argentina was not initially connected to the cybersecurity event in the United States but was found separately [63163]. This accidental discovery of the vulnerability highlights how certain failures or weaknesses in software systems can be unintentionally revealed, leading to potential breaches or incidents. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in the articles can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident involving Equifax's Argentine operations was due to a specific vulnerability in an internal portal in Argentina, where the login and password were set as "admin" [63163]. This vulnerability allowed unauthorized access to sensitive records, including customers' national identity numbers. Equifax took immediate action to remediate the situation by temporarily shutting down the affected website. The incident was isolated to a limited amount of information strictly related to Equifax employees, and there was no evidence at the time that consumers or customers were negatively affected [63163]. This indicates that the software failure incident was temporary and was resolved once the vulnerability was addressed. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident related to Equifax in Argentina did not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. The incident was more related to a security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to sensitive data by using a simple login and password combination [63163].
(b) omission: The incident did not involve the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the issue was related to a weakly guarded web application that allowed unauthorized access to records containing sensitive information [63163].
(c) timing: The failure was not due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The issue was more about a security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to data, rather than a timing-related failure [63163].
(d) value: The software failure incident did involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. Specifically, the incident allowed unauthorized access to records containing sensitive information by using a simple and easily guessable login and password combination [63163].
(e) byzantine: The incident did not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. It was more about a straightforward security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to sensitive data [63163].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be categorized as a security vulnerability leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data. The incident highlighted a lack of proper security measures, such as using a weak login and password combination, which exposed thousands of customers' national identity numbers [63163]. |