Incident: Nintendo Network ID Breach: Unauthorized Access and Digital Purchases

Published Date: 2020-06-09

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident at Nintendo, where 140,000 additional accounts were accessed maliciously, began in early April [101247]. Therefore, the software failure incident at Nintendo occurred in early April.
System 1. Nintendo Network ID login system [101247]
Responsible Organization 1. Hackers accessed Nintendo accounts maliciously, causing the software failure incident [101247].
Impacted Organization 1. Nintendo users [101247]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident at Nintendo was a major privacy breach due to a vulnerability in its Nintendo Network ID login system, which allowed malicious access to accounts [101247].
Non-software Causes 1. Lack of strong security measures in place to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts [101247] 2. Failure to promptly address user complaints about unauthorized purchases and account breaches on social media [101247]
Impacts 1. The impacts of the software failure incident at Nintendo included: - Unauthorized access to 140,000 additional accounts beyond the initial 160,000 acknowledged in April, potentially exposing players' nicknames, dates of birth, regions, and email addresses to third parties [101247]. - Possibility of unauthorized digital purchases being made in Nintendo's eShop using the compromised accounts [101247]. - Complaints from users on social media about hackers spending money on Fortnite currency and other digital goods using the breached accounts [101247]. - Disabling the ability to log in using Nintendo Network ID and resetting passwords for impacted accounts [101247]. - Recommendations for affected users to set up two-step verification for their accounts [101247].
Preventions 1. Implementing stronger authentication measures such as two-step verification could have prevented unauthorized access to the accounts [101247]. 2. Regular security audits and penetration testing could have helped identify vulnerabilities in the Nintendo Network ID login system before malicious access occurred [101247]. 3. Enhancing monitoring and detection capabilities to quickly identify and respond to suspicious activities on user accounts could have mitigated the impact of the breach [101247].
Fixes 1. Implementing stronger security measures such as two-step verification for user accounts to prevent unauthorized access [101247]. 2. Conducting a thorough review and update of the Nintendo Network ID login system to address vulnerabilities that allowed the breach to occur [101247]. 3. Enhancing monitoring and detection capabilities to identify and respond to potential security incidents in a timely manner [101247].
References 1. Nintendo's Japanese support site [101247] 2. Social media platforms where users complained about the incident [101247] 3. ZDNet, a sister site that reported on the incident [101247]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident of a privacy breach at Nintendo had happened before within the same organization. In April, Nintendo acknowledged a breach where 160,000 accounts were accessed maliciously. This incident was linked to its Nintendo Network ID login system. However, in June, Nintendo updated the notice to reveal that an additional 140,000 accounts were also accessed maliciously, indicating a recurrence of the software failure incident within the organization [101247]. (b) There is no information in the provided article to suggest that a similar software failure incident has happened at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where it mentions that the breach was linked to Nintendo's Nintendo Network ID login system. The breach began in early April and was due to a major privacy breach that allowed malicious access to accounts, impacting players' personal information like nicknames, dates of birth, regions, and email addresses [101247]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where it states that hackers were able to access Nintendo accounts and abuse attached payment card information to make unauthorized digital purchases in Nintendo's eShop. Users complained on social media about hackers spending money on Fortnite currency and other digital goods, indicating a failure in the operation or security measures of the system [101247].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident at Nintendo, where 140,000 additional accounts were accessed maliciously, was due to a breach in its Nintendo Network ID login system [101247]. This indicates that the contributing factors leading to the failure originated from within the system itself. (b) outside_system: The breach that occurred at Nintendo was linked to its Nintendo Network ID login system, indicating that the failure was not due to factors originating from outside the system [101247].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to non-human actions. The breach in Nintendo's system was linked to its Nintendo Network ID login system, indicating a vulnerability in the software itself that allowed unauthorized access to user accounts [101247]. Additionally, the breach resulted in unauthorized digital purchases being made in Nintendo's eShop, highlighting a failure in the system's security measures that allowed such actions to occur without direct human involvement.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: - The incident was a major privacy breach where 140,000 additional accounts were accessed maliciously on top of the initial 160,000 accounts [101247]. - The breach was linked to Nintendo's Nintendo Network ID login system, indicating a potential vulnerability in the hardware or infrastructure supporting the login system [101247]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: - The breach allowed unauthorized access to players' nicknames, dates of birth, regions, and email addresses, indicating a software vulnerability in the system that allowed this information to be viewed by a third party [101247]. - Hackers were able to abuse attached payment card info to make unauthorized digital purchases in Nintendo's eShop, suggesting a software flaw in the payment processing or security mechanisms [101247].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) malicious (a) The software failure incident related to the Nintendo breach can be categorized as malicious. The incident involved unauthorized access to Nintendo accounts by hackers, leading to potential exposure of users' personal information and unauthorized digital purchases being made. The breach was described as "accessed maliciously" by a third party, indicating that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by humans with the intent to harm the system [101247].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions (a) The software failure incident related to the Nintendo privacy breach can be attributed to poor decisions made by the company. The incident was a result of a major privacy breach where 140,000 additional accounts were accessed maliciously on top of the 160,000 already acknowledged by Nintendo [101247]. This breach was linked to the Nintendo Network ID login system, indicating a vulnerability in the system that allowed unauthorized access to user information. Additionally, prior to Nintendo's official statement, players had been complaining on social media about hackers making unauthorized purchases using their accounts [101247]. These incidents highlight the consequences of poor decisions related to security measures and system vulnerabilities within the software.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence, unknown (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the Nintendo privacy breach incident. The breach, which affected a significant number of accounts, was linked to the Nintendo Network ID login system. The fact that hackers were able to access and exploit user information, leading to unauthorized purchases, indicates a failure in the development of robust security measures to protect user data [101247]. (b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article.
Duration temporary The software failure incident reported in Article 101247 was temporary. The incident involved a major privacy breach at Nintendo, where unauthorized access to accounts occurred due to a breach in the Nintendo Network ID login system. The breach began in early April and was linked to malicious access to 140,000 additional accounts on top of the 160,000 initially acknowledged by Nintendo in April. As a response to the incident, Nintendo disabled the ability to log in using the affected Nintendo Network IDs, reset passwords for impacted accounts, and recommended setting up two-step verification for accounts. Additionally, the company stated that they would make further efforts to strengthen security to prevent similar events in the future. This indicates that the software failure incident was temporary and not permanent [101247].
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident related to the Nintendo breach can be categorized as a crash. The breach led to unauthorized access to 140,000 additional accounts on top of the 160,000 already acknowledged by Nintendo, resulting in the system losing control and not performing its intended functions of safeguarding user data [101247]. (b) omission: The incident can also be classified as an omission. The breach caused the system to omit performing its intended function of protecting user information, leading to the exposure of players' nicknames, dates of birth, regions, and email addresses to unauthorized parties [101247]. (c) timing: There is no indication in the article that the software failure incident was related to timing issues. (d) value: The incident does not align with a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure. (f) other: The other behavior exhibited by the software failure incident is a security vulnerability that allowed malicious actors to exploit the system and make unauthorized digital purchases in Nintendo's eShop, which was not the intended function of the system [101247].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, theoretical_consequence (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure The software failure incident at Nintendo resulted in unauthorized access to users' accounts, potentially exposing their nicknames, dates of birth, regions, and email addresses to a third party. Additionally, unauthorized digital purchases could have been made in Nintendo's eShop using the compromised accounts. Users reported instances where hackers spent hundreds of dollars on Fortnite currency and other digital goods using the breached accounts [101247].
Domain entertainment (a) The software failure incident reported in the news article is related to the entertainment industry. The incident involved hackers accessing Nintendo accounts and making unauthorized purchases for Fortnite currency and other digital goods [101247].

Sources

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