| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to a security vulnerability in Amazon's Echo devices happened again at the same organization. Chinese hackers developed a new technique to hijack Amazon's voice assistant gadget by chaining together a series of bugs in Amazon's second-generation Echo [74623]. The hackers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to achieve remote eavesdropping and control the device for surveillance purposes. Amazon was alerted to these findings, and security fixes were pushed out in response to the incident.
(b) There is no information in the provided article about the software failure incident happening again at multiple organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where Chinese hackers developed a new technique for hijacking Amazon's voice assistant gadget, the Echo. They exploited multiple vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to achieve remote eavesdropping and control the device for surveillance purposes [74623].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where the hackers demonstrated how they could physically alter their own Echo devices to create attack tools, allowing them to potentially plant spyware on a target Echo if they had physical access to it. This highlights the risk of operation-related failures if a hacker gains alone time with the device in the target's home or hotel room [74623]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is primarily within the system. The Chinese hackers were able to exploit multiple vulnerabilities within Amazon's second-generation Echo device to take over the devices and stream audio from its microphone to a remote attacker [74623]. The hackers utilized a series of bugs in the Echo system, including web vulnerabilities in the Alexa interface on Amazon.com, to gain control over the target speaker [74623]. They also physically altered an Echo by removing its flash chip, writing their own firmware to it, and re-soldering the chip back to the Echo's motherboard to create an attack tool [74623].
(b) However, there are also elements of the software failure incident that involve factors originating from outside the system. For instance, the attack required the hackers to have access to the target Echo's Wi-Fi network, which is an external factor [74623]. Additionally, the researchers mentioned that the attack could potentially be performed on Echoes in environments with more widely shared Wi-Fi passwords, such as hotels and schools, indicating that the external environment plays a role in the feasibility of the attack [74623]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the article was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically bugs in Amazon's second-generation Echo that were exploited by Chinese hackers to take over the devices and eavesdrop on users [74623].
(b) However, human actions were also involved in the software failure incident as the hackers had to physically alter their own Echo devices by removing and modifying the firmware chip to create an attack tool, which was then used to exploit vulnerabilities in the Echo system [74623]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is related to hardware as the hackers had to physically alter the Echo devices by removing and modifying the firmware chip to create an attack tool [74623].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to software as the hackers exploited multiple vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system, including web vulnerabilities in the Alexa interface, to gain control over the devices and eavesdrop on users [74623]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is malicious in nature. Chinese hackers developed a technique to hijack Amazon's second-generation Echo devices, allowing them to remotely eavesdrop on users without their knowledge. The hackers exploited multiple vulnerabilities in the Echo system to achieve remote eavesdropping and control over the devices [74623]. The attack involved chaining together a series of bugs in the Echo to take over the devices and stream audio from the microphone to a remote attacker, demonstrating a practical demonstration of how the devices could be silently hijacked for surveillance purposes. The hackers were part of the Blade team of security researchers at Chinese tech giant Tencent and their work highlighted the potential risks associated with smart speakers like the Echo being compromised for malicious purposes. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
The software failure incident described in the article was not due to poor decisions but rather due to a sophisticated attack orchestrated by Chinese hackers who identified and exploited multiple vulnerabilities in Amazon's second-generation Echo devices [74623].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
The software failure incident was not a result of accidental decisions but rather a deliberate and calculated effort by the Chinese hackers to chain together a series of bugs in Amazon's Echo devices to achieve remote eavesdropping capabilities [74623]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is related to development incompetence. The Chinese hackers spent months developing a new technique for hijacking Amazon's voice assistant gadget by chaining together a series of bugs in Amazon's second-generation Echo [74623]. They exploited vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to achieve remote eavesdropping, demonstrating a sophisticated multistep penetration technique that worked against the relatively secure Echo devices. The hackers had to possess serious hardware skills and access to the target Echo's Wi-Fi network to carry out the attack, showcasing the level of technical expertise required for such an intrusion. Additionally, they altered the Echo's firmware and used various web vulnerabilities to gain control over the target speaker, highlighting the complexity of the attack [74623].
(b) The software failure incident can also be considered accidental to some extent. The article mentions that the attack required some serious hardware skills and access to the target Echo's Wi-Fi network, making it unlikely to be used against the average Echo owner [74623]. Furthermore, the hackers alerted Amazon to their findings, leading the company to push out security fixes in July to address the vulnerabilities exploited in the attack. The fact that the attack was already patched indicates that it was not intentionally introduced by Amazon but rather discovered and reported by external researchers. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident described in the article is temporary. The Chinese hackers spent months developing a new technique to hijack Amazon's Echo, but they alerted Amazon to their findings, and the company pushed out security fixes in July [74623]. The attack required serious hardware skills and access to the target Echo's Wi-Fi network, making it unlikely to be used against the average Echo owner. Additionally, the attack technique involved a series of bugs in Amazon's second-generation Echo, which were patched by Amazon [74623]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. Instead, the incident involves a series of bugs and vulnerabilities being exploited to take over Amazon Echo devices for eavesdropping purposes [74623].
(b) omission: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). The incident is more focused on exploiting vulnerabilities to gain control over the devices for surveillance purposes [74623].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early. The focus of the incident is on the exploitation of bugs and vulnerabilities to remotely eavesdrop on Amazon Echo devices [74623].
(d) value: The software failure incident does involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The hackers were able to exploit multiple vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to achieve remote eavesdropping and control over the devices, allowing them to silently record and transmit audio to a remote attacker [74623].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The incident primarily revolves around exploiting vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to compromise the devices for surveillance purposes [74623].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be categorized as a targeted attack involving the exploitation of multiple vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo system to gain unauthorized access, control, and eavesdropping capabilities on the devices. The incident showcases a sophisticated multistep penetration technique that highlights the potential security risks associated with smart speakers like the Amazon Echo [74623]. |