| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the voter registration website crashing in Florida has happened before within the same organization. The article mentions that a similar crash happened on the last day to register ahead of the midterm elections in 2018, and on National Voter Registration Day last month [106331].
(b) The incident of the voter registration website crashing in Florida is not explicitly mentioned to have happened at other organizations or with their products and services in the provided article. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The incident was caused by the system being ill-prepared to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and a second wave from journalists and digital rubberneckers [106331]. The large influx of requests to the website was speculated to be a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) or a result of an information technology staff that was ill-prepared to handle the traffic [106331].
(b) The software failure incident can also be linked to the operation phase. Users experienced delays while trying to register due to high volume, prompting the need to increase capacity [106331]. Additionally, the website kept locking up for users, drop-down menus did not work, and the page frequently reset or froze, causing frustration and hindering the registration process [106331]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Florida voter registration website crash was primarily attributed to factors originating from within the system. The incident was caused by an overwhelming influx of legitimate voter registration requests, which led to the website crashing multiple times [106331]. The Secretary of State mentioned that the website received an unprecedented 1.1 million requests per hour, indicating internal system limitations in handling the high volume of traffic [106331]. Additionally, the incident was compared to previous crashes on similar registration deadlines, suggesting internal system issues in handling peak loads [106331].
(b) outside_system: While there were concerns about potential external factors such as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeting the website, cybersecurity experts indicated that the incident was more likely due to internal factors. The large volume of traffic was considered insufficient to be a typical DDoS attack, and it was suggested that the incident was primarily caused by the system being ill-prepared to handle the sudden surge in traffic from legitimate users and observers [106331]. The Secretary of State also mentioned that there was no evidence of interference or malicious activity impacting the site, further supporting the notion that the failure was not primarily due to external attacks [106331]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
The incident of the Florida voter registration website crashing was initially suspected to be a result of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, where hackers flood a site with traffic requests until it collapses under the load [106331]. Cybersecurity experts mentioned that the large influx of requests to the website could indicate a DDoS attack, although they also noted that it could have been caused by legitimate voter registrations and traffic from journalists and digital users investigating the reported issues [106331].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
The failure of the Florida voter registration website was also attributed to the state's information technology staff being ill-prepared to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and subsequent waves of traffic from journalists and digital users [106331]. Additionally, there were concerns raised about the capacity and transparency of the system to sustain increased traffic, leading to demands for a longer deadline extension to allow affected individuals to register successfully [106331]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The incident of Florida's voter registration website crashing was initially suspected to be a result of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, where hackers flood a site with traffic requests until it collapses under the load [106331].
- There were concerns about whether the crash was a deliberate attack, leading the Department of State to work with law enforcement to ensure it was not a malicious activity [106331].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The incident was also attributed to the state's information technology staff being ill-prepared to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and other users, indicating a software-related issue [106331].
- Some cybersecurity experts suggested that the incident was more likely due to the website's staff being overwhelmed by the influx of traffic rather than a denial-of-service attack, pointing towards a software-related problem [106331]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Florida voter registration website crash raised concerns about potential malicious intent. There were speculations that the website crash could have been a result of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack by hackers, as the site was experiencing an unprecedented amount of traffic with over a million requests per hour [106331]. However, Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee mentioned that at that time, there was no evidence of interference or malicious activity impacting the site [106331].
(b) On the non-malicious side, cybersecurity experts also suggested that the incident could have been due to the information technology staff being ill-prepared to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and other users investigating the reported issues [106331]. Additionally, the incident was compared to similar crashes that happened in the past on critical registration deadlines, indicating that high volumes of traffic on such days are expected and should be managed appropriately to avoid system failures [106331]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Florida voter registration website crash seems to have elements of both poor decisions and accidental decisions contributing to the failure.
1. Poor Decisions:
- The incident highlighted poor decisions in terms of the website's capacity planning and handling of high traffic volumes. The website was ill-prepared to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and other users [106331].
- There were concerns raised about the state's preparedness for the influx of voters, indicating potential shortcomings in decision-making regarding the website's scalability and resilience [106331].
- The incident in 2018 and on National Voter Registration Day in the past also suggests a pattern of poor decision-making or lack of proactive measures to address the high volumes of traffic on critical deadlines [106331].
2. Accidental Decisions:
- The incident was also described as a result of accidental decisions or unintended consequences, such as the website being overwhelmed by a large influx of requests from legitimate voter registrations and other users [106331].
- While there were suspicions of a possible DDoS attack, cybersecurity experts suggested that the incident was more likely due to the website's inability to handle the sudden surge in traffic, rather than a deliberate attack [106331].
- The Secretary of State mentioned that there was no evidence of interference or malicious activity impacting the site, indicating that the crash was not a deliberate attack but rather a consequence of the high volume of traffic [106331].
In summary, the software failure incident in Florida appears to have been influenced by a combination of poor decisions, such as inadequate capacity planning, and accidental decisions, such as the unexpected surge in legitimate traffic overwhelming the system. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in the Florida voter registration website crash was partially attributed to development incompetence. The incident was described as being caused by an ill-prepared information technology staff that struggled to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and other users [106331]. Additionally, the incident was compared to a similar crash that happened in 2018, indicating a recurring issue that could have been addressed with better preparation and capacity planning [106331].
(b) The software failure incident in the Florida voter registration website crash was also described as accidental. While there were concerns about potential malicious attacks, it was ultimately determined that there was no evidence of interference or deliberate attack on the website [106331]. The incident was more likely attributed to the overwhelming volume of legitimate traffic, including last-minute voter registrations and curious users, rather than a targeted attack [106331]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident related to the Florida voter registration website crash was temporary. The incident occurred due to a large influx of traffic from legitimate voter registrations and a second wave from journalists and digital rubberneckers looking into the reported issues [106331]. The incident was not a permanent failure but rather a result of specific circumstances leading to the crash. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, timing, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash. The Florida voter registration website crashed before the state's midnight deadline, leading to error messages for last-minute voters trying to register [106331].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be related to omission as the system omitted to perform its intended functions at the crucial moment of high traffic influx, resulting in delays and error messages for users trying to register [106331].
(c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident can be considered a factor as the system failed to handle the last-minute flood of traffic from legitimate voter registrations, causing delays and prompting an extension of the registration deadline [106331].
(d) value: The software failure incident can be linked to a failure in value as the system was unable to correctly process voter registrations, leading to error messages and difficulties for users trying to register [106331].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure, as there were no mentions of inconsistent responses or interactions in the behavior of the system during the incident [106331].
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited by the software failure incident is the potential vulnerability to external attacks, such as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which could have contributed to the crash of the voter registration website [106331]. |