| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization:
The article mentions that in April, security researchers found more than 540 million Facebook user records in a public database on Amazon's cloud servers [93388]. This incident of unprotected public databases containing Facebook user data is similar to the recent incident where more than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs were exposed in a database that was accessible online. These incidents indicate a recurring issue within Facebook in terms of protecting user data.
(b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization:
The article mentions that in September, TechCrunch reported on a server containing several databases filled with more than 419 million Facebook records from users in the US, UK, and Vietnam [93388]. This incident indicates that similar data exposure issues have occurred not just within Facebook but also at other organizations or servers where Facebook user data was stored. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the incident where more than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs were exposed in a database that was accessible online. The database containing this sensitive information was not protected by a password or any other safeguard, indicating a design flaw in the system's security measures [93388].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the exposure of Facebook user data, putting users at risk for spam and phishing campaigns. This indicates a failure in the operation or misuse of the system, as the data was made available for download on a hacker forum, potentially due to inadequate operational controls or misuse of the data by unauthorized individuals [93388]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the exposure of over 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs was primarily due to contributing factors that originated from within the system. The database containing the sensitive user data was not protected by a password or any other safeguard, making it easily accessible to anyone online [93388]. Additionally, the security researcher who discovered the data mentioned possible ways in which criminals in Vietnam could have obtained the user records through exploiting Facebook's API or using automated technology to scrape information from public profiles, indicating vulnerabilities within Facebook's system [93388]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The incident of more than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs being exposed in a database was due to the database not being protected by a password or any other safeguard, allowing anyone to access it online [93388].
- Criminals in Vietnam potentially obtained the user records through exploiting Facebook's API or using automated technology to scrape information from public Facebook profiles [93388].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The incident highlights Facebook's ongoing privacy and security mishaps, raising questions about whether the company is doing enough to protect the data of its users [93388].
- The exposed Facebook data puts users at risk for spam and phishing campaigns, indicating potential risks introduced by human actions [93388].
- The database was set to public by mistake, as mentioned by the security researcher Diachenko, indicating a potential human error in the configuration or management of the database [93388]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware: The incident reported in the news article [93388] does not specifically mention any hardware-related failure contributing factors. The focus of the incident is on the exposure of Facebook user data due to an unprotected database, lack of proper safeguards, and potential exploitation of Facebook's API or scraping of public profiles.
(b) The software failure incident related to software: The software failure incident in article [93388] is primarily attributed to software-related factors. The exposure of over 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs was a result of the database not being protected by a password or any other safeguard. Additionally, the incident mentions potential exploitation of Facebook's API or automated scraping of information from public profiles as possible ways criminals obtained the user records. The incident highlights issues with data protection, privacy, and security within Facebook's software systems. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious, non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 93388 is malicious in nature. The incident involved the exposure of over 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs in a database that was accessible online. The database was not protected by a password or any other safeguard, and someone even made the data available for download on a hacker forum. Security researcher Bob Diachenko believes that criminals in Vietnam obtained the user records through exploiting Facebook's API or using automated technology to scrape information from public profiles. The incident raises concerns about the security and privacy of Facebook users' data, indicating a malicious intent to access and potentially misuse the exposed information [93388].
(b) Additionally, the incident highlights non-malicious contributing factors such as the database being set to public by mistake, as mentioned by Diachenko. The exposure of the data was likely unintentional, as there were no good reasons to publicly expose the sensitive information. Facebook also mentioned that the data was likely harvested before they made changes to better safeguard user information, indicating a lack of malicious intent from their side in exposing the data. The incident underscores the importance of safeguarding user data and the risks associated with unprotected public databases, suggesting negligence or oversight rather than intentional harm [93388]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the exposure of over 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs was primarily due to poor decisions made in handling the database security. The database containing the sensitive user data was not protected by a password or any other safeguard, making it easily accessible to anyone online [93388]. Additionally, the database was set to public by mistake, as mentioned by the security researcher who discovered the incident, highlighting a lack of proper security measures and oversight [93388].
(b) The software failure incident can also be attributed to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The exposure of the Facebook user data was not intentional, as indicated by the security researcher's observation that the database was likely made public by mistake, with no good reasons to publicly expose such sensitive data [93388]. This accidental exposure led to the data being available for download on a hacker forum, putting users at risk for spam and phishing campaigns [93388]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the exposure of more than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs due to the database not being protected by a password or any other safeguard. This lack of security measures allowed the information to be out in the open for nearly two weeks before it was removed [93388].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is seen in the database being set to public by mistake, as mentioned by security researcher Bob Diachenko. He stated that there were no good reasons to publicly expose the data, indicating that it was an unintentional action that led to the exposure of user information [93388]. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident in this case can be considered as permanent. The exposure of more than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs due to an unprotected database that was accessible online was a significant breach of privacy and security [93388]. The incident was not a temporary glitch or error but a serious failure that had lasting consequences as the information had been out in the open for nearly two weeks before being removed. Additionally, the incident highlighted ongoing privacy and security issues that continue to plague Facebook, indicating a more systemic problem rather than a temporary issue. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The incident reported in the article does not specifically mention a system crash where the system loses state and fails to perform any of its intended functions [93388].
(b) omission: The incident does not describe a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) [93388].
(c) timing: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [93388].
(d) value: The software failure incident in the article relates to a failure where the system performed its intended functions incorrectly, leading to the exposure of over 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names, and user IDs due to the database being unprotected and accessible online [93388].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not exhibit a failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [93388].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in this case can be categorized as a security breach resulting from the exposure of sensitive user data due to inadequate protection measures, rather than a specific technical malfunction like a crash or timing issue [93388]. |