| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization:
- The Labour Party faced a second cyber-attack, described as a "sophisticated and large-scale" attempt to disrupt its digital systems, just a day after the initial attack [Article 91854].
- The party reported that the attacks were aimed at their digital platforms, including election and campaigning tools containing details about voters [Article 91854].
- Labour confirmed that the attacks were DDoS attacks, which flooded their servers with requests to overwhelm them [Article 91854].
- The party assured that their security systems prevented any data breach despite the attacks [Article 91854].
(b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization:
- The articles do not mention any other organizations experiencing similar cyber-attacks or software failures. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase:
- The incident involved a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the Labour Party's digital platforms, which flooded a computer server with traffic to try to take it offline [91882].
- The attack was sophisticated and large-scale, targeting Labour's digital platforms, including election and campaigning tools containing details about voters [91854].
- Labour reported the attack to the National Cyber Security Centre and stated that their security systems successfully thwarted the attempts, maintaining the integrity of their platforms and data [91854].
- The incident led to a disruption in campaign activities, with some tools like "Labour Connects" being closed for maintenance due to the attack [91882].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase:
- The incident caused a slowdown in campaign activities due to security procedures, but these were restored the following morning, indicating an impact on the operation of campaign tools [91854].
- Labour experienced differences in user experience on their platforms as a result of the ongoing security processes in place to protect against the cyber-attacks [91882].
- The attack did not result in a data breach, and Labour was confident that their security systems prevented any unauthorized access to data despite the disruption in operations [91854].
- The attack did not lead to a breach of data protection regulations, and Labour took steps to address the exposure of donor names through an online tool [91882]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system:
- The software failure incident involving the Labour Party's digital platforms being targeted by distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks was due to factors originating from within the system. The attacks aimed to disrupt the party's digital systems, including election and campaigning tools, which contained details about voters [91854].
- The incident involved a DDoS attack that flooded the computer servers with traffic, causing their software to crash. The attack was aimed at taking the Labour Party's systems offline, but it failed due to the party's robust security systems [91882].
(b) outside_system:
- The DDoS attacks on the Labour Party were reported to have originated from computers in Russia and Brazil, indicating that the contributing factors for the attack came from outside the system [91882].
- The initial indications suggested that the attack on the Labour Party's digital platforms was carried out by a "non-state actor," implying that the source of the attack was external to the party's systems [91854]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The software failure incident in the articles is related to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which flood a computer server with traffic to try to take it offline [91882, 91854].
- DDoS attacks are carried out via a network of hijacked computers and other internet-connected devices known as a botnet, where the owners may be unaware their equipment is involved [91882].
- The attack on Labour's digital platforms was described as a "sophisticated and large-scale cyber-attack" [91854].
- The attack was not successful in taking the systems offline due to the party's robust security systems [91854].
- Labour reported the attack to the National Cyber Security Centre and took swift action to protect their platforms [91854].
- Labour is using software by the technology company Cloudflare to protect its systems from DDoS attacks [91882].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The incident involving the exposure of donors' names due to a security flaw in the Labour Party's online tool was attributed to human actions [91882].
- The details of donors were exposed via an RSS web feed generated by the site's code, which was considered a security flaw [91882].
- Labour made changes to shut down the RSS feed to address the issue [91882].
- The Information Commissioner's Office mentioned monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning to ensure parties are aware of their responsibilities [91882]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not provide information about the software failure incident occurring due to hardware issues.
(b) The software failure incident reported in the articles is related to a cyber-attack, specifically a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the Labour Party's digital platforms. This attack flooded the computer servers with traffic to try to take them offline, causing their software to crash [91882, 91854]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious, non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident related to the cyber-attacks on the Labour Party's digital platforms can be categorized as malicious. The incidents involved Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which flood computer servers with traffic to try to take them offline. The attacks were described as "sophisticated and large-scale" attempts to disrupt the party's systems [91854]. The attacks were not successful in taking the systems offline due to the party's robust security systems [91854]. Labour Party officials reported the attacks to the National Cyber Security Centre, indicating the seriousness of the incidents [91854]. Additionally, the attacks were seen as suspicious given the timing during an election campaign, raising concerns about potential malicious intent [91882].
(b) The software failure incident can also be considered non-malicious in the sense that it was not a result of a data breach or a security flaw in the systems. The Labour Party denied that there was a data breach or a security flaw in its systems after reports surfaced about the exposure of donor names via an online tool [91882]. The party took immediate action to address the issues and shut down the RSS feed that exposed the names [91882]. The incident involving the exposure of donor names was not described as a deliberate act to harm the system but rather a vulnerability that was addressed promptly [91882]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- The software failure incident involving the Labour Party being hit by cyber-attacks was not due to poor decisions but rather deliberate malicious actions by threat actors attempting to disrupt the party's digital systems [91882, 91854].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
- The software failure incident was not caused by accidental decisions but rather deliberate and sophisticated attacks aimed at overwhelming the Labour Party's digital platforms [91882, 91854]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
unknown |
(a) The articles do not provide information indicating the software failure incident was due to development incompetence.
(b) The software failure incident reported in the articles was due to a deliberate cyber-attack, specifically a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The attack was described as sophisticated and large-scale, aimed at disrupting Labour's digital systems [91854]. The attack utilized botnets to flood the server with requests, overwhelming it and causing disruption to the party's digital platforms [91854]. The incident was not accidental but a targeted attack by malicious actors aiming to take the systems offline [91854]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in the articles was temporary. The incident involved a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the Labour Party's digital platforms, which caused disruptions and slowdowns in their systems. The attack was described as "sophisticated and large-scale" but was ultimately thwarted by the party's robust security systems [Article 91854].
The incident was not permanent as the attack did not result in a data breach, and the party was confident that the integrity of all their platforms and data was maintained. The attack led to a slowdown in some campaign activities, but these were restored, and the party was back to full speed the following day [Article 91854]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as a crash. The incident involved Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that aimed to overwhelm Labour Party's computer servers, causing their software to crash [91882, 91854].
(b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident being related to omission in the articles.
(c) timing: The incident does not seem to be related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions but at the wrong time.
(d) value: The incident does not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly.
(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 behavior of the software failure incident can be described as a targeted cyber-attack through DDoS attacks, aiming to disrupt the Labour Party's digital systems by overwhelming their computer servers with traffic, leading to a crash in the software functionality [91882, 91854]. |