| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
The article mentions that the Dalian Train Operation Depot in northeast China experienced a software failure incident due to the death of Adobe Flash Player. Despite warnings and the end of support for Flash, the depot's systems were affected, leading to a 20-hour struggle to stabilize the software [109941].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
The article discusses how Flash installations, whether forgotten or intentionally maintained, could expose networks to security risks for years to come. It mentions that some organizations may not update their software, and Adobe's last release of Flash included a feature that allows network administrators to override the kill switch, potentially leaving systems vulnerable [109941]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in northeast China was primarily due to a design-related factor introduced by the system development and updates. The incident was triggered by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which had been phased out and officially ended support by Adobe. The depot's systems were not updated to adapt to the transition away from Flash, leading to malfunctions in the dispatcher's browsers and the inability to print train data from the web app [109941].
(b) Additionally, the failure incident can also be attributed to an operational factor related to the misuse of the system. Despite warnings and efforts by Adobe and browser vendors to transition away from Flash, the Dalian Depot staff resorted to pirating old versions of the software and modifying them to run on different Windows versions in an attempt to stabilize the system. This operational decision to continue using outdated and unsupported software contributed to the prolonged system instability and the need for IT staff to intervene for 20 hours to stabilize the system [109941]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot was primarily caused by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which was triggered by a kill switch distributed in Flash updates. The depot's systems malfunctioned as a result of this internal software issue, leading to disruptions in the dispatcher's ability to access train schedule details and print train data [109941].
(b) outside_system: The contributing factor that originated from outside the system in this incident was the decision by Adobe to end support for Flash Player and trigger the kill switch, rendering the software inoperable. This external factor led to the failure within the depot's systems, highlighting the impact of changes in external software support on internal operations [109941]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot was primarily caused by a non-human action, specifically the death of Adobe Flash Player. Adobe ended support for Flash Player, triggering a kill switch that rendered the software inoperable, leading to the malfunction of the depot's systems [109941].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in exacerbating the situation. Staff at the depot resorted to pirating old versions of Flash Player and modifying them to run on different Windows versions in an attempt to stabilize the system. This action, although driven by the need to address the software failure, was a human intervention that contributed to the complexity of the situation [109941]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in northeast China was not directly caused by hardware issues but rather by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which was triggered by a kill switch distributed in Flash updates, rendering the software inoperable [109941].
(b) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot was primarily caused by the demise of Adobe Flash Player, a software issue. The failure occurred because Adobe fully ended support for Flash, triggering a kill switch that blocked content from running in the player, leading to malfunctions in the depot's systems [109941]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in China was non-malicious. The incident was caused by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which was triggered by a kill switch distributed in Flash updates, rendering the software inoperable [109941]. The failure was not due to malicious intent but rather a consequence of the end of support for Flash and the lack of awareness or preparation by the organization.
(b) The failure was not caused by malicious factors introduced by humans to harm the system but rather by the natural progression of technology and the discontinuation of support for Adobe Flash Player. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in China was primarily due to poor decisions made by the organization. Despite warnings and the end of support for Adobe Flash Player, the depot did not take appropriate action to transition away from Flash. Instead, they resorted to pirating old versions of the software and modifying them to keep the system running, which ultimately led to the malfunction of their computers and web apps [109941].
(b) The incident also involved accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The depot's staff ended up facing challenges and issues with the Flash software, which they had not anticipated. This led to a situation where they had to struggle for over 20 hours to stabilize the system, highlighting the unintended consequences of relying on outdated and unsupported software [109941]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in China was not due to development incompetence but rather due to the death of Adobe Flash Player, which was triggered by a kill switch distributed in Flash updates [109941].
(b) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot was accidental as it was caused by the unexpected consequences of Adobe fully ending support for Flash Player and triggering a kill switch that rendered the software inoperable, leading to malfunctions in the depot's systems [109941]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in northeast China was temporary. The incident lasted for 20 hours before IT staff were able to stabilize the system [109941]. The failure was triggered by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which rendered the software inoperable due to a kill switch activated by Adobe [109941]. The depot's staff had to pirate old versions of the software and modify them to run on different versions of Windows to stabilize the system during the incident [109941].
(b) The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in northeast China was temporary. The incident lasted for 20 hours before IT staff were able to stabilize the system [109941]. The failure was triggered by the death of Adobe Flash Player, which rendered the software inoperable due to a kill switch activated by Adobe [109941]. The depot's staff had to pirate old versions of the software and modify them to run on different versions of Windows to stabilize the system during the incident [109941]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident at the Dalian Train Operation Depot in China can be categorized as a crash. The incident involved computers malfunctioning, browsers not loading train schedule details, and dispatchers losing the ability to print train data from the web app, indicating a failure of the system to perform its intended functions [109941].
(b) omission: The incident can also be categorized as an omission. The system omitted to perform its intended functions at instances when dispatchers were unable to access train schedule details and print train data from the web app [109941].
(c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident is not specifically mentioned in the article. Therefore, it is unknown if the failure was due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early.
(d) value: The incident does not indicate a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The primary issue seemed to be the inability of the system to function properly rather than performing incorrectly.
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The failure was more related to the system's inability to function properly due to the end of support for Adobe Flash Player.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited in this software failure incident is the system's reliance on outdated software (Adobe Flash Player) despite warnings and the end of support. This behavior led to a prolonged system instability and the need for desperate measures such as pirating old versions of the software to stabilize the system [109941]. |