| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
The article mentions that Forever 21 experienced a breach where hackers collected customer payment card information due to malicious software installed on point of sales terminals [66227]. This incident is similar to a previous announcement made by the company on November 14, indicating that the company may have been targeted by hackers before. This suggests a recurring issue within the same organization.
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
The article also highlights that similar incidents have occurred at other organizations. For example, it mentions that fast food chain Chipotle and video game retailer GameStop were hit by similar hacks in 2017. This indicates that cybercriminals are targeting major retailers by hacking the systems that process credit and debit cards, affecting multiple organizations [66227]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident at Forever 21 was primarily due to contributing factors introduced during the design phase of the system. Hackers were able to collect customer payment card information because they installed malicious software on some point of sales terminals in stores throughout the country. The company mentioned that the point of sales terminals were supposed to be encrypted to prevent interception of information, but sometimes the encryption was turned off, allowing hackers to collect sensitive data such as credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and cardholder names [66227].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident can also be attributed to contributing factors introduced during the operation phase of the system. The breach occurred between April 3 and November 18, 2017, indicating that the system was operational during that period. The misuse or lack of proper operation of the point of sales terminals, leading to the encryption being turned off, allowed hackers to exploit the system and collect customer payment card information [66227]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident at Forever 21 was primarily within the system. Hackers were able to install malicious software on the point of sales terminals within the stores, indicating a breach within the company's internal systems [66227]. Additionally, the encryption on the point of sales terminals, which was supposed to protect customer information, was sometimes turned off internally, allowing hackers to collect sensitive data [66227]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident at Forever 21 was primarily due to non-human actions. Hackers were able to collect customer payment card information by installing malicious software on some point of sales terminals in stores, allowing them to intercept credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and sometimes cardholder names [66227]. The breach occurred between April 3 and November 18, 2017, indicating that the failure was a result of external factors introduced without human participation.
(b) However, human actions also played a role in the failure. Forever 21 mentioned that their point of sales terminals were supposed to be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to customer information. The company acknowledged that sometimes the encryption was turned off, which allowed hackers to collect sensitive data from the compromised machines [66227]. This highlights the importance of proper configuration and maintenance of security measures by human operators to prevent such incidents. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident at Forever 21 was primarily due to contributing factors originating in hardware. The breach occurred because hackers installed malicious software on some point of sales terminals in stores throughout the country, indicating a compromise at the hardware level [66227]. Additionally, the encryption on the point of sales terminals, which was supposed to protect customer information, was sometimes turned off, allowing hackers to collect sensitive data [66227].
(b) The software failure incident at Forever 21 also had contributing factors originating in software. The hackers collected credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and sometimes cardholder names by infecting the machines with their tools, indicating a software vulnerability that was exploited [66227]. The breach highlights the importance of software security measures and the potential risks associated with software vulnerabilities in retail systems. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident at Forever 21 was malicious in nature. Hackers installed malicious software on some point of sales terminals in stores, allowing them to collect sensitive customer payment card information such as credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and cardholder names [66227]. The breach was a result of cybercriminals targeting major retailers by hacking into the systems that process credit and debit cards, indicating an intentional act to harm the system and steal information. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident at Forever 21, where customer payment card information was exposed to hackers, can be attributed to poor decisions made by the company. The article mentions that hackers were able to collect credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and sometimes cardholder names because the encryption on the point of sales terminals was turned off at times, despite it being supposed to be encrypted. This poor decision to have encryption turned off allowed hackers to intercept and collect sensitive customer information [66227].
(b) The software failure incident at Forever 21 can also be linked to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The article highlights that despite companies having technologies in place to prevent hackers, sometimes these measures do not work as intended. In this case, the encryption on the point of sales terminals was turned off, possibly accidentally or unintentionally, which led to the exposure of customer payment card information to hackers. This unintended consequence of the encryption being turned off contributed to the failure incident [66227]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence can be seen in the breach at Forever 21 where hackers were able to collect customer payment card information due to malicious software being installed on some point of sales terminals in stores throughout the country. Forever 21 mentioned that their point of sales terminals were supposed to be encrypted to prevent interception of information, but sometimes the encryption was turned off, allowing hackers to collect sensitive data [66227].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors can be observed in the same breach at Forever 21 where the company mentioned that their encryption on point of sales terminals was sometimes turned off accidentally, leading to the exposure of credit card numbers, expiration dates, and verification codes to hackers. This accidental turning off of encryption contributed to the vulnerability exploited by the hackers [66227]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident at Forever 21, where hackers collected customer payment card information, can be categorized as a temporary failure. The breach occurred between April 3 and November 18, 2017, indicating that the incident was not permanent but rather temporary, lasting for a specific duration [66227]. The breach was a result of contributing factors introduced by certain circumstances, such as hackers installing malicious software on point of sales terminals, rather than being a continuous failure due to all circumstances. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash as the point of sales terminals at Forever 21 experienced a breach where hackers installed malicious software, causing the system to lose its state and not perform its intended functions of securely processing customer payment card information [66227].
(b) omission: The incident can also be related to omission as the system omitted to perform its intended functions of encrypting credit card information properly, leading to the exposure of customer payment card details to hackers [66227].
(c) timing: There is no specific mention of timing-related failures in the article.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be associated with a value failure as the system performed its intended functions incorrectly by allowing hackers to collect credit card numbers, expiration dates, verification codes, and cardholder names [66227].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not align with a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident could be related to a security vulnerability exploit, where the system's security measures were bypassed by hackers, resulting in unauthorized access to sensitive customer data [66227]. |