| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
- The incident involved a data breach of booking websites such as Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com, all of which use the Cloud Hospitality backend owned by Prestige Software [107583].
- Prestige Software, the company that owns the software, was responsible for the incident, indicating a failure within the organization's software systems [107583].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
- The incident affected multiple popular travel booking sites, including Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com, indicating a widespread impact across different organizations [107583].
- The vulnerability in the software used by these companies exposed millions of customers to potential fraud, suggesting a common issue across multiple organizations utilizing the same software [107583]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be attributed to the design phase. The incident occurred due to a flaw in a popular form of cloud-based storage, specifically the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which led to more than 10 million individual files being left wide open, exposing sensitive and identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems [107583]. This design flaw in the storage system allowed hackers to potentially access and exploit the data without any protection in place, leading to a massive data breach affecting multiple booking websites. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident in this case was primarily within the system. The breach occurred due to a flaw in the popular form of cloud-based storage, specifically the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, where more than 10 million individual files containing sensitive and identifiable information were left wide open [107583]. Additionally, the software company, Prestige Software, which owns the software that automates and synchronizes hotel availabilities, stored up to seven years' worth of credit card data without any protection in place, contributing to the vulnerability [107583]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurred due to non-human actions, specifically a flaw in a popular form of cloud-based storage, known as the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket. This flaw led to more than 10 million individual files being left wide open, exposing sensitive and identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems to make travel plans [107583].
(b) The software failure incident also involved human actions as the Spanish company Prestige Software, which owns the software that automates and synchronizes hotel availabilities, stored up to seven years' worth of credit card data from hotel guests and travel agents 'without any protection in place'. This lack of proper security measures on the part of the company contributed to the vulnerability and potential data breach [107583]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles was not directly attributed to hardware issues. Instead, the incident was primarily caused by a flaw in a popular form of cloud-based storage, specifically the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which led to the exposure of sensitive customer data [107583].
(b) The software failure incident was primarily due to contributing factors originating in software. The breach occurred because of a flaw in the software owned by Spanish company Prestige Software, which automates and synchronizes hotel availabilities for various booking websites like Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com. The software stored sensitive customer data, including credit card information, without proper protection, leading to a massive data breach affecting millions of individuals [107583]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case appears to be malicious. The incident involved a massive data breach of booking websites such as Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com, where millions of Australians were potentially exposed to fraud. The breach was attributed to a flaw in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which left more than 10 million individual files wide open, containing sensitive and identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems [107583]. The breach could have allowed hackers to access and manipulate hotel reservations, potentially taking over someone's holiday without paying or selling reservations to unsuspecting customers. Additionally, hackers could use the exposed information for blackmail purposes, indicating malicious intent behind the breach. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- The software company, Prestige Software, stored up to seven years' worth of credit card data from hotel guests and travel agents 'without any protection in place' [107583].
- The breach was discovered due to a flaw in a popular form of cloud-based storage, known as the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which left more than 10 million individual files wide open, containing sensitive and identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems [107583].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
- The article does not specifically mention any accidental decisions that contributed to the software failure incident. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in this case can be attributed to development incompetence. The incident occurred due to a flaw in a popular form of cloud-based storage, specifically the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which led to more than 10 million individual files being left wide open, exposing sensitive and identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems [107583]. This indicates a lack of professional competence in ensuring proper data protection measures were in place during the development and implementation of the software.
(b) Additionally, the incident can also be categorized as accidental. The exposure of customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, identification documents, credit card information, and private booking details was reportedly accidental, as the data was left exposed due to the flaw in the AWS S3 bucket, rather than a deliberate act [107583]. This accidental exposure highlights the unintended consequences of the software vulnerability, leading to potential data breaches and fraud. |
| Duration |
permanent, temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in this case appears to be permanent as it resulted in a massive data breach of booking websites, exposing millions of individuals to potential fraud. The breach involved the exposure of sensitive information such as credit card numbers, personal details, names, addresses, phone numbers, identification documents, and private booking details. The breach was attributed to a flaw in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket, which left more than 10 million individual files wide open, containing identifiable information from customers who used the online booking systems [107583].
(b) The temporary aspect of the software failure incident could be seen in the response actions taken after the breach was discovered. Website Planet, an internet security group, contacted AWS, and the S3 bucket was secured the following day. Additionally, customers who used online booking platforms were advised to contact each provider and inquire about data security, indicating a temporary phase of addressing the breach and implementing security measures [107583]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, other |
(a) crash: The incident did not involve a crash where the system lost state and did not perform any of its intended functions. The breach was related to data exposure and potential theft rather than a system crash [107583].
(b) omission: The software failure incident could be categorized under omission as the system omitted to protect sensitive data properly, leading to the exposure of customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, identification documents, credit card information, and private booking details [107583].
(c) timing: The timing of the failure is not related to the system performing its intended functions too late or too early. It is more about the lack of protection and security measures in place that allowed the exposure of sensitive data [107583].
(d) value: The failure does not fall under the category of the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. Instead, it is about the system failing to protect valuable customer data, leading to potential fraud and data theft [107583].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. It is more about a security flaw that exposed sensitive data to potential misuse [107583].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident could be categorized as a security breach resulting from inadequate protection of sensitive data stored by the software, leading to the exposure of customers' credit card information and personal details to potential fraud and misuse [107583]. |