| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to antivirus software exploitation has happened again at Kaspersky Lab. The incident involved Russia exploiting Kaspersky antivirus software to probe federal systems for US intelligence secrets [64132].
(b) The software failure incident related to antivirus software exploitation has also happened at another organization, Hauri, a South Korean company that provides antivirus software to the country's military. North Korean hackers infiltrated Hauri's antivirus software to grab classified data [64132]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the case of antivirus software, particularly Kaspersky Lab's software, being exploited by Russia and North Korea for cyber espionage activities. The articles highlight how the design of antivirus software, which grants deep system access, can pose major risks when not as secure as it seems. The incident involving Russia using Kaspersky antivirus software to probe federal systems for US intelligence secrets and North Korea infiltrating Hauri antivirus software to grab classified data demonstrate the vulnerabilities introduced by the design of these security products [64132].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the exploitation of antivirus software by malicious actors due to the operation or misuse of the system. The articles discuss how antivirus software, with its system-wide omnipotence and total access, can become a target for well-heeled hackers when compromised. The incident involving North Korean hackers sneaking malware into legitimate antivirus offerings to grab classified data showcases how the operation of antivirus software can be manipulated for malicious purposes [64132]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
The software failure incident related to the antivirus software exploitation by Russia and North Korea involves contributing factors from both within and outside the system.
(a) within_system: The incident involved the exploitation of antivirus software (Kaspersky Lab and Hauri) by Russia and North Korea, indicating that the failure originated from within the system itself [64132].
(b) outside_system: The external factor in this incident was the malicious intent and actions of foreign entities (Russia and North Korea) to exploit vulnerabilities in the antivirus software for their cyberespionage efforts [64132]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The articles discuss how antivirus software, such as Kaspersky Lab's software, can pose major risks due to its privileged status and system-wide access, making it an attractive target for hackers [64132].
- Antivirus software, being a complex software with a lot of code, may have vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers, leading to software failure incidents [64132].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The articles mention how North Korea infiltrated a South Korean company providing antivirus software to the military and used malware to grab classified data, indicating a software failure incident caused by human actions (hacking) [64132]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The articles do not provide information about the software failure incident occurring due to contributing factors originating in hardware. Therefore, it is unknown.
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The software failure incident discussed in the articles is related to antivirus software from Kaspersky Lab being exploited by Russia and North Korea for cyber espionage activities [64132]. This incident highlights the risks associated with using antivirus software, which is a software failure due to contributing factors originating in software itself. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident discussed in the articles is malicious in nature. The incident involved Russia exploiting Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software to probe federal systems for US intelligence secrets [64132]. Additionally, North Korea hacked into classified South Korean military files by infiltrating Hauri, a South Korean company that provides antivirus software to the military [64132]. These actions were carried out with the intent to gather classified data and potentially harm the systems they infiltrated. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor decisions can be seen in the incident where Russia exploited software from Kaspersky Lab to trawl US systems for classified data. This incident involved poor decisions in granting deep system access to software that may not have been as secure as it seemed, leading to major risks for both intelligence services and everyday computer users [64132].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental decisions can be observed in the case where North Korea hacked into classified South Korean military files by infiltrating Hauri, a South Korean company that provides antivirus software to the country's military. The hackers were able to grab classified data by sneaking malware into the legitimate antivirus offering, indicating unintended consequences of using antivirus software [64132]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article where it discusses how antivirus software, including Kaspersky Lab's software, was exploited by Russia and North Korea to probe federal systems for US intelligence secrets and hack into classified South Korean military files [64132]. This exploitation highlights the risks associated with granting deep system access to software that may not be as secure as it seems, emphasizing the potential consequences of vulnerabilities introduced due to development incompetence.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is demonstrated in the article through the discussion of critical vulnerabilities discovered across all of Symantec's antivirus products by Google's Tavis Ormandy [64132]. Additionally, the article mentions the DoubleAgent attack, which showed how a Microsoft debugging tool could be used to turn antivirus software into spyware, indicating the accidental introduction of vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. |
| Duration |
permanent |
The software failure incident discussed in the articles is more likely to be considered as a permanent failure rather than a temporary one. This is because the articles highlight the inherent risks associated with antivirus software, emphasizing that antivirus software can pose major risks due to its privileged access to system-wide information [64132]. The articles discuss how antivirus software, although providing benefits, can also be exploited by well-heeled hackers and intelligence services to gain system-wide omnipotence, making it a perfect bugging device on every computer it's installed on [64132]. Additionally, the articles mention specific incidents where antivirus software from companies like Kaspersky and Hauri were compromised by Russian and North Korean hackers, leading to the successful extraction of classified data [64132].
Therefore, the software failure incident discussed in the articles is more aligned with a permanent failure due to the inherent risks associated with antivirus software and the potential for exploitation by malicious actors. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The articles do not mention any specific incidents of software crashing.
(b) omission: The incident involving Russia exploiting Kaspersky Lab software to trawl US systems for classified data and North Korea hacking into classified South Korean military files can be seen as a form of omission where the software failed to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches [64132].
(c) timing: The articles do not mention any incidents related to timing failures.
(d) value: The incident involving North Korea infiltrating Hauri, a South Korean company that provides antivirus software to the military, and grabbing classified data can be considered a value failure where the software failed to correctly perform its intended function of protecting sensitive information [64132].
(e) byzantine: The articles do not mention any incidents related to byzantine behavior.
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be described as a security vulnerability where the antivirus software, which is meant to protect systems, was exploited by malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to classified data [64132]. |