| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident of keylogging in HP laptops has happened again within the same organization. In a previous incident reported by Swiss computer security consultancy ModZero in May, it was found that 28 models of HP laptops came with keylogging software pre-installed [66310].
(b) The software failure incident of keylogging in HP laptops has also happened at other organizations. The incident was reported to affect 475 models of HP laptops, including EliteBook, ProBook, ZBook, Envy, and Pavilion versions, among others [66310]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase is evident in the case of the keylogging software found in HP laptops. The keylogger was pre-installed by the supplier partner as part of software to test audio functionality before product launch. This software should not have been included in the final shipped version, indicating a failure in the design and development phase [66310].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is seen in how the keylogger, although disabled by default, could be enabled by setting a registry value. This means that users could inadvertently activate the keylogger through their operation of the system, leading to potential security risks [66310]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident involving keylogging software pre-installed on HP laptops is a result of a boundary within the system. The keylogger was part of the Synaptics Touchpad software, which controls the touchpad user interface. The keylogging functionality was designed to help monitor and repair bugs within the touchpad software. However, the keylogger ended up capturing keystrokes in unencrypted plain text files, leading to a potential security risk [66310]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is related to non-human actions. The keylogging software found in HP laptops was pre-installed by the supplier partner to test audio functionality before product launch, and it should not have been included in the final shipped version. This indicates that the keylogger was a result of negligence on the part of the developers and not intentionally implemented [66310].
(b) The software failure incident in the articles is also related to human actions. The keylogger was discovered by a computer security expert named Michael Myng, who exposed the bug in a blog post. He found the keylogging capability in the keyboard driver and noticed interesting strings that led to the discovery of the keylogger. Additionally, HP issued a patch to remove the keylogger, which customers are advised to download [66310]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
The incident reported in Article 66310 involves a software failure incident related to hardware. It discusses how technology used by cyber criminals to gather sensitive information, specifically keylogging software, comes pre-installed on a range of laptops, including HP notebooks. The keylogger is used by the Synaptics Touchpad software, which is a hardware component controlling the touchpad user interface. The keylogging software was designed to help monitor and repair any bugs in the touchpad interface but ended up capturing keystrokes in unencrypted plain text files, potentially exposing sensitive information to hackers [66310].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
The software failure incident in Article 66310 is primarily related to software issues. The keylogging software that was pre-installed on HP laptops was a software component designed to interact with the hardware (Synaptics Touchpad software) but ended up capturing keystrokes in an insecure manner, storing them in unencrypted plain text files. This software flaw allowed hackers to potentially access private details like passwords and pin numbers. HP issued a patch to remove the keylogger software, indicating that the root cause of the failure was a software vulnerability [66310]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The objective of the software failure incident was malicious. The failure was due to the presence of keylogging software pre-installed on HP laptops, which captured everything typed on the keyboard. This software could potentially be used by hackers to access private details like passwords and pin numbers, indicating a malicious intent to gather sensitive information [66310]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident was accidental_decisions. The keylogging software found in HP laptops was not intentionally implemented but was a result of negligence by the developers. The software was originally developed by a supplier partner to test audio functionality before product launch but should not have been included in the final shipped version. This accidental inclusion led to the keylogging software being present on numerous HP laptop models, potentially compromising user data security [66310]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the case of the keylogging software found in HP laptops. The keylogger was discovered to be pre-installed on numerous models of HP laptops, capturing keystrokes in unencrypted plain text files, potentially exposing sensitive information to hackers [66310].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is highlighted by the negligence of the developers who included the keylogging software in the final shipped version of the laptops. The software was originally intended for testing audio functionality but should not have been included in the released products, leading to the unintentional exposure of user data [66310]. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is considered permanent as it involves pre-installed keylogging software on hundreds of models of HP laptops. The keylogger captures everything typed on the keyboard, potentially exposing sensitive information like passwords and pin numbers. HP has issued a patch to remove the keylogger, but the incident highlights a significant security flaw that could lead to a loss of confidentiality for affected customers [66310]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident related to the HP laptops containing keylogging software can be categorized as a crash. The keylogger software was capturing keystrokes and storing them in unencrypted plain text files, potentially allowing hackers to access sensitive information like passwords and pin numbers. This behavior led to a loss of confidentiality for affected customers, prompting HP to issue a patch to remove the keylogger [66310].
(b) omission: The keylogging software incident can also be considered as an omission failure. The keylogger was disabled by default, but it could be enabled by setting a registry value. This means that the software omitted to perform its intended function of not capturing keystrokes unless intentionally activated, leading to a security vulnerability [66310].
(c) timing: There is no specific mention of a timing-related failure in the articles provided.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be linked to a value failure. The keylogging software was designed to capture keystrokes for the purpose of monitoring and repairing bugs in the touchpad user interface. However, the software stored the recorded details of every keystroke in unencrypted plain text files, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information, which is an incorrect behavior [66310].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited by the software failure incident is negligence on the part of the developers. The presence of the keylogging software in HP laptops was attributed to negligence rather than intentional implementation. The software was included in the laptops due to a mistake by the supplier partner, who developed the software for testing audio functionality but it should not have been included in the final shipped version. This negligence led to the harmful consequences of potential data breaches and loss of confidentiality [66310]. |