| Recurring |
multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the vulnerability in Android's operating system affecting Bitcoin digital wallets is specific to Google's Android platform. There is no mention in the provided article of a similar incident happening before within the same organization (Google) or with its products and services.
(b) The software failure incident affecting Bitcoin digital wallets due to the flaw in Android's operating system has raised concerns about the security of other apps as well. Symantec researchers warned that as many as 360,000 other apps could be vulnerable to similar attacks since they use Android's SecureRandom class. This indicates that the issue is not limited to a single organization but could potentially impact multiple organizations or developers using the Android platform for their apps [21250]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to the design phase. The flaw in Android's operating system that made Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft was due to improper initialization of the underlying PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator) used for key generation, signing, or random number generation. This flaw was rooted in the operating system itself, indicating a design issue introduced during development or system updates [21250].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to the operation phase. The vulnerability in Android's PRNG led to the theft of Bitcoins from digital wallets due to the misuse of the system by attackers who exploited the flaw to retrieve private keys and transfer funds without the owner's consent. This misuse of the system by attackers highlights an operational failure in ensuring the security of the Bitcoin wallets [21250]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the articles is primarily due to contributing factors that originate from within the system. The flaw in Android's operating system related to the improper initialization of the underlying PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator) was identified as the root cause of the vulnerability affecting Bitcoin digital wallets [21250]. Additionally, the issue with the Android component responsible for generating secure random numbers directly impacts the security of Bitcoin wallets created by Android apps [21250].
(b) outside_system: There is no explicit mention in the articles of contributing factors originating from outside the system leading to the software failure incident. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to non-human actions. The flaw in Android's operating system related to the generation of secure random numbers (PRNG) was identified as the root cause of the vulnerability, impacting Bitcoin digital wallets [21250].
(b) Human actions also played a role in this software failure incident. The vulnerability was discovered by Bitcoin developers, and it was highlighted that certain Bitcoin wallet applications using Android's SecureRandom signed multiple transactions using an identical 'random' number, which allowed attackers to exploit the weakness and steal funds [21250]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The software failure incident reported in the article is not directly attributed to hardware issues. The vulnerability in Android's operating system that made Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft was due to a flaw in the PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator) implementation within the software itself, specifically in the Android component responsible for generating secure random numbers [21250].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The software failure incident was primarily caused by a flaw in Android's operating system, specifically in the PRNG implementation, which led to the vulnerability in Bitcoin digital wallets [21250]. The issue was related to improper initialization of the PRNG, affecting applications using the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) for key generation, signing, or random number generation on Android devices. Additionally, applications that directly invoked the system-provided OpenSSL PRNG without explicit initialization were also affected [21250]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is malicious. The flaw in Android's operating system that made Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft was exploited by attackers who scanned the transaction block chain to retrieve private keys and transfer funds without the owner's consent [21250]. This indicates that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by humans with the intent to harm the system. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the vulnerability in Android's operating system affecting Bitcoin digital wallets was primarily due to poor decisions. The flaw was caused by improper initialization of the underlying PRNG in Android devices, leading to weak cryptographic values being generated. This flaw allowed attackers to steal Bitcoins from wallets due to the predictable nature of the random numbers generated by certain Bitcoin wallet applications [21250]. The incident highlights the consequences of poor decisions in the design and implementation of cryptographic functions within the Android operating system, which ultimately exposed users to theft risks. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article. The flaw in Android's operating system that made Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft was attributed to improper initialization of the underlying PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator) in the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) and system-provided OpenSSL PRNG. This lack of professional competence in properly initializing the PRNG led to the vulnerability affecting every Bitcoin digital wallet generated by an Android app [21250].
(b) The software failure incident was accidental in nature as it was not intentional but rather a result of a flaw in the Android component responsible for generating secure random numbers. The vulnerability was discovered by Bitcoin developers, indicating that the incident was accidental and not deliberately introduced [21250]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in the articles can be categorized as a temporary failure. The flaw in Android's operating system that made Bitcoin digital wallets vulnerable to theft was due to improper initialization of the underlying PRNG, affecting applications using the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) for key generation, signing, or random number generation [21250]. The vulnerability was discovered by Bitcoin developers and was specific to certain circumstances related to the Android component generating secure random numbers. The incident was not a permanent failure but rather a temporary one that could be addressed through updates and patches to ensure proper initialization of the PRNG. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is not related to a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions.
(b) omission: The vulnerability in the Android operating system led to a flaw in the generation of secure random numbers, which resulted in the omission of providing cryptographically strong values to applications using the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) for key generation, signing, or random number generation [21250].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions but too late or too early.
(d) value: The failure in this incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly, specifically in the generation of secure random numbers, leading to vulnerabilities in Bitcoin digital wallets [21250].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit behavior of the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior observed in this incident is the improper initialization of the underlying Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in the Android operating system, which affected the security of Bitcoin digital wallets [21250]. |