| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
The Mabna Institute, an Iranian company, was accused of hacking at least 320 universities worldwide, stealing valuable intellectual property and data. This incident involving cyber attacks on universities and companies is a significant software failure incident that has happened within the same organization [69268].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
The Mabna Institute, in addition to targeting 144 US universities, also carried out cyber attacks on 176 universities in 21 foreign countries, including the UK, Germany, Canada, Israel, and Japan. This indicates that the software failure incident of cyber attacks has happened at multiple organizations globally [69268]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company, is accused of hacking into hundreds of universities worldwide and stealing valuable intellectual property and data. The firm was established in 2013, and US prosecutors believe it was designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information. This indicates a failure in the design phase where the system was developed with the intention of carrying out cyber attacks on universities and organizations [69268].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where the Mabna Institute targeted the email accounts of more than 100,000 professors worldwide, compromising about 8,000 of them. This operation involved the hackers infiltrating computer systems and stealing intellectual property, indicating a failure in the operation phase where the system was misused for malicious activities [69268]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily attributed to the actions of the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company accused of hacking into hundreds of universities worldwide and stealing valuable intellectual property and data. The Mabna Institute, established in 2013, is believed to have been designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information. The cyber attacks on universities, companies, and parts of the US government were carried out by targeting email accounts of professors worldwide, compromising thousands of them [69268].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident can also be seen as originating from outside the system, specifically from the actions of the Iranian government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US authorities described the cyber attacks as being done "at the behest of the Iranian government" [69268]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is attributed to human actions, specifically the actions of Iranian hackers associated with the Mabna Institute. The hackers were accused of carrying out cyber attacks on hundreds of universities worldwide, stealing valuable intellectual property and data totaling 31 terabytes. The hackers targeted email accounts of professors, compromising about 8,000 of them [69268]. The failure was a result of deliberate actions taken by individuals involved in the cyber attacks. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to hardware issues.
(b) The software failure incident mentioned in the articles is related to cyber attacks conducted by the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company, and 10 individuals. They are accused of hacking into 320 universities worldwide, stealing 31 terabytes of intellectual property and data. The hackers targeted email accounts of professors, compromising about 8,000 of them. This incident is described as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees to be prosecuted, indicating a software failure due to contributing factors originating in malicious software and cyber attacks [69268]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is malicious. The Mabna Institute, an Iranian company, is accused of hacking into hundreds of universities worldwide and stealing valuable intellectual property and data totaling 31 terabytes. The hackers targeted email accounts of over 100,000 professors globally, compromising about 8,000 of them. The US authorities described this cyber attack as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees to be prosecuted, with many of the intrusions believed to be done at the behest of the Iranian government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [69268]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
The software failure incident reported in the article [69268] was not due to poor decisions or accidental decisions. Instead, it was a deliberate cyber attack orchestrated by the Mabna Institute, accused of hacking into hundreds of universities worldwide to steal valuable intellectual property and data. The intent behind this incident was malicious, with the hackers targeting email accounts of professors to compromise them and steal information for their own gain. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the case of the Mabna Institute hacking incident. The Mabna Institute, established in 2013, was believed to be designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information by carrying out cyber attacks on numerous universities worldwide [69268]. This indicates a deliberate and planned effort by individuals with professional competence in hacking and cyber attacks.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is not mentioned in the provided article. |
| Duration |
unknown |
The software failure incident described in the article does not align with the typical definitions of a temporary or permanent software failure. The incident reported in the article is related to a cyber attack carried out by the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company, on numerous universities worldwide. This incident involves hacking activities, data theft, and cyber espionage rather than a traditional software failure as a result of technical issues or bugs. Therefore, the concepts of temporary or permanent software failure do not apply in this context. |
| Behaviour |
other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [69268].
(b) omission: The failure in this incident is not due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) [69268].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [69268].
(d) value: The failure in this incident is not due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [69268].
(e) byzantine: The behavior of the software failure incident in the article does not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [69268].
(f) other: The software failure incident in the article involves a cyber attack where the Mabna Institute is accused of hacking universities worldwide to steal intellectual property and data. This behavior falls under the category of a deliberate malicious act rather than a system failure as described in options (a) to (e) [69268]. |