| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) This incident involving the hacking of Jack Dorsey's Twitter account is not the first time his account has been compromised. In 2016, a hacking group known as OurMine Security took over the accounts of numerous celebrities and tech executives, including Dorsey [88199].
(b) The article mentions that Dorsey is not the first technology CEO to suffer the embarrassment of a personal hack. This incident is part of a trend where accounts of various celebrities and tech executives, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Travis Kalanick, have been compromised in the past [88199]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be attributed to the security oversight by the mobile provider associated with Jack Dorsey's Twitter account. Twitter attributed the fault for the hack to Dorsey's mobile phone company, stating that the phone number associated with the account was compromised due to a security oversight by the mobile provider [88199].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase can be linked to the Sim swap attack that allowed the hackers to gain control of Jack Dorsey's Twitter account. The Sim swap attack involved convincing a mobile phone carrier to switch a particular phone number to a different Sim card, giving the hacker control of the phone number [88199]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident involving the hacking of Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was attributed to a security oversight by the mobile provider, which allowed an unauthorized person to compose and send tweets via text message from the phone number associated with the account. This issue was resolved by Twitter, indicating that the failure originated from within the system [88199].
(b) outside_system: The hack on Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was achieved through a Sim swap attack, where a hacker convinced the mobile phone carrier to switch the phone number to a different Sim card, giving the hacker control of the phone number. This external manipulation of the mobile provider's system allowed the hackers to breach Twitter's system and compromise Dorsey's account [88199]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case occurred due to non-human actions. The Twitter account of Jack Dorsey was hacked and briefly hijacked by the "Chuckling Squad" hackers. The hack was attributed to a security oversight by the mobile provider, which allowed an unauthorized person to compose and send tweets via text message from the compromised phone number [88199]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The Twitter account of Jack Dorsey was hacked and hijacked due to a security oversight by the mobile provider, which allowed an unauthorized person to compose and send tweets via text message from the compromised phone number [Article 88199].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The hack on Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was attributed to a Sim swap attack, where a hacker convinced the mobile phone carrier to switch the phone number to a different Sim card, giving the hacker control of the phone number [Article 88199]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was malicious. The Twitter account of Jack Dorsey was hacked by a group calling themselves the "Chuckling Squad" who posted offensive tweets, including racial slurs, profanity, and bomb threats. The hackers also shared a link to a Discord server where they boasted about the hack. The hack was attributed to a Sim swap attack, where the hackers convinced Dorsey's mobile phone company to switch his phone number to a different Sim card, giving them control of the account [88199]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident involving the hacking of Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was primarily due to poor decisions made by his mobile phone company. Twitter attributed the fault for the hack to Dorsey's mobile phone company, stating that "The phone number associated with the account was compromised due to a security oversight by the mobile provider" [Article 88199]. This security oversight allowed an unauthorized person to compose and send tweets via text message from the phone number, leading to the hijacking of the account.
(b) Additionally, the incident involved accidental decisions or mistakes on the part of the mobile phone carrier's employees who were likely tricked or bribed into facilitating the Sim swap attack. The article mentions that Sim swaps often occur when a hacker convinces a mobile phone carrier, often through bribery or trickery of low-level employees, to switch a particular phone number to a different Sim card, giving the hacker control of the phone number [Article 88199]. This indicates that the hack was facilitated by accidental decisions or mistakes made by the carrier's employees. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as it mentions that the Twitter account of Jack Dorsey was hacked and briefly hijacked. The hack was attributed to a security oversight by the mobile provider, which allowed an unauthorized person to compose and send tweets via text message from the phone number associated with the account. This oversight by the mobile provider can be considered a failure due to contributing factors introduced due to lack of professional competence [88199].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is also present in the article. The hack was achieved through a Sim swap attack, where a hacker convinced the mobile phone carrier to switch the phone number to a different Sim card, giving the hacker control of the phone number. This type of attack can be considered accidental in the sense that it exploits vulnerabilities in the system that may not have been intentionally designed but exist due to the nature of the technology and human error [88199]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was temporary. Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was hacked and briefly hijacked, with the hackers posting tweets containing racial slurs, profanity, and other inappropriate content. Twitter confirmed the hack and regained control of the account within 30 minutes, attributing the fault to Dorsey's mobile phone company. The issue was resolved after the unauthorized person was able to send tweets via text message from the compromised phone number. The incident was not a permanent failure as Twitter was able to regain control and address the security oversight that led to the hack [88199]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash. Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was hacked, leading to a situation where the system lost control and started publishing unauthorized tweets, including racial slurs, profanity, and bomb threats. This behavior is indicative of a crash where the system was not performing its intended functions but instead was taken over by hackers, causing it to lose control and publish inappropriate content [Article 88199].
(b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident being categorized as an omission in the articles.
(c) timing: The incident does not align with a timing failure where the system performs its intended functions but at the wrong time.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be associated with a value failure. The unauthorized access to Jack Dorsey's Twitter account led to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly by publishing tweets containing racial slurs, profanity, and bomb threats, which were not part of the intended use of the account [Article 88199].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited in this software failure incident is unauthorized access leading to a security breach. The hackers gained control of Jack Dorsey's Twitter account through a Sim swap attack, which involved compromising the phone number associated with the account. This unauthorized access resulted in the system behaving in a way not intended, allowing the hackers to publish tweets on behalf of Dorsey [Article 88199]. |