| Recurring |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to the flaw in WhatsApp allowing scammers to alter messages and manipulate the quote feature has not been reported to have happened again within the same organization (WhatsApp) [74636].
(b) The software failure incident related to the flaw in WhatsApp allowing scammers to alter messages and manipulate the quote feature has not been reported to have happened at other organizations or with their products and services [74636]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the discovery of a flaw in WhatsApp that allowed scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message. Check Point Software Technologies found this flaw, which enabled scammers to manipulate the "quote" feature within the chat, giving the impression that someone sent a message they did not actually send. WhatsApp acknowledged the possibility of manipulating the quote feature but disagreed that it was a flaw, stating that the system was working as intended to prevent privacy risks or service slowdowns [74636].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase can be observed in the misuse of the WhatsApp platform to spread misinformation. False rumors about child kidnappers in India and false stories about deadly reactions to yellow fever vaccines in Brazil were circulated through WhatsApp, leading to mob violence and misinformation spread. WhatsApp acknowledged the challenge of misinformation and implemented measures to limit how widely a message can be shared and to attach labels to forwarded messages. However, the issue raised by Check Point regarding message manipulation was considered unrelated to WhatsApp's efforts to curb misinformation [74636]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the flaw in WhatsApp's quote feature that allowed scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message was considered by WhatsApp as not a flaw but rather a feature working as intended. WhatsApp disagreed with the cybersecurity company's assessment that it was a flaw, stating that the system was working as intended to prevent privacy risks or service slowdowns. WhatsApp mentioned that the issue was equivalent to altering an email and did not compromise the end-to-end encryption security of the platform [74636].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident related to the flaw in WhatsApp's quote feature was exploited by scammers to manipulate messages and spread misinformation, leading to concerns about the integrity of messages on the platform. The ability to alter messages gave attackers a powerful tool to spread misinformation from what appeared to be a trusted source, especially in group chats with multiple participants. This external manipulation of messages by attackers highlights the vulnerability of the system to outside influences [74636]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident related to non-human actions was the flaw discovered in WhatsApp that allowed scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message. This flaw enabled scammers to manipulate the "quote" feature within the chat, giving the impression that someone sent a message they did not actually send. WhatsApp acknowledged the possibility of manipulating the quote feature but disagreed that it was a flaw, stating that the system was working as intended to prevent privacy risks or service slowdowns [74636].
(b) The software failure incident related to human actions involved scammers creating a hacked version of the WhatsApp application to exploit the flaw in the quote feature. By creating this fake version of WhatsApp, scammers were able to deceive users by altering messages and impersonating senders. WhatsApp worked to find and remove anyone using the fake application to spoof the service. The issue raised by Check Point Software Technologies highlighted the potential for attackers to spread misinformation from what appeared to be a trusted source, emphasizing the need for WhatsApp to adjust its system to prevent such manipulations [74636]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not mention any software failure incident occurring due to contributing factors originating in hardware.
(b) The software failure incident reported in the articles is related to a flaw in the WhatsApp messaging service that allows scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message. This flaw is attributed to the software design of WhatsApp, specifically related to the quote feature manipulation [74636]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is malicious in nature. Check Point Software Technologies discovered a flaw in WhatsApp that allows scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message by creating a hacked version of the WhatsApp application [74636]. This manipulation of messages gives attackers a powerful tool to spread misinformation from what appears to be a trusted source, especially in group chats [74636]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- The flaw in WhatsApp that allowed scammers to alter messages was not considered a flaw by WhatsApp itself. WhatsApp stated that the system was working as intended, and the trade-offs to prevent such deception would create privacy risks or slow down the service [74636].
- WhatsApp mentioned that potential fixes to the issue, such as creating transcripts of every message exchange to verify accuracy, were not worth trying due to significant privacy risks associated with storing such transcripts [74636]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not evident in the provided article.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is highlighted in the article. Check Point Software Technologies discovered a flaw in WhatsApp that allowed scammers to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message. This flaw was not intended by WhatsApp but was a result of how the quote feature could be manipulated by creating a hacked version of the application [74636]. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident described in the articles seems to be more of a permanent nature. The flaw in WhatsApp that allowed scammers to alter messages and manipulate the quote feature was acknowledged by WhatsApp, but the company disagreed that it was a flaw. WhatsApp stated that the system was working as intended, and the potential fixes to the issue were deemed not worth trying due to significant privacy risks associated with creating transcripts of every message exchange to verify the accuracy of every quote [74636]. This indicates that the contributing factors leading to the software failure were introduced by all circumstances, making it more of a permanent nature. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The articles do not mention any instance of the software crashing and losing its state.
(b) omission: The software failure incident in the articles does not involve the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s).
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not relate to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. Scammers were able to alter the content or change the identity of the sender of a previously delivered message on WhatsApp, giving the impression that someone sent a message they did not actually send [74636].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as a manipulation of message content and sender identity, leading to potential misinformation and deception within the messaging service. |