| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization:
- The Commonwealth Bank experienced its fourth major lunchtime outage in a month, with previous outages occurring on July 2, June 23, and April 26 [117212].
- Customers expressed frustration over the repeated problems with the bank's online banking services, indicating a pattern of recurring software failures within the same organization [117212].
(b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization:
- The June 17 system outage that affected Commonwealth Bank was not isolated to just the bank but also impacted other banks, airlines, and Australia Post due to a temporary failure in Akamai Technologies' infrastructure [117212].
- Bendigo Bank customers also reported online issues around the same time as the Commonwealth Bank's incident, suggesting a broader impact on multiple organizations [117212]. |
| 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 chaos and outages experienced by Commonwealth Bank customers were caused by a system outage that affected not only the bank but also other banks, airlines, and Australia Post. This disruption was attributed to the infrastructure of United States-based content delivery company Akamai Technologies failing, impacting various services [117212].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the same article when users reported issues with netbanking and EFTPOS payments, indicating operational difficulties in accessing and using the bank's services. Additionally, the article highlights how customers were unable to log in, access their balances, make payments, and experienced delays in transfers, all pointing towards operational challenges faced by users [117212]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident at Commonwealth Bank, leading to customers being unable to log online, was primarily due to issues within the bank's system. Users reported problems with netbanking and EFTPOS payments, indicating internal system failures [117212]. Additionally, the bank's mobile phone apps and ATMs were less affected, further suggesting that the core online banking system was the primary source of the issue.
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident at Commonwealth Bank was also influenced by factors originating from outside the system. For example, a previous crash on June 17 was caused by the temporary failure of United States-based content delivery company Akamai Technologies' infrastructure, affecting not only Commonwealth Bank but also other banks, airlines, and Australia Post [117212]. This external factor impacted the bank's ability to provide online services to its customers. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Commonwealth Bank case was primarily due to non-human actions. The outage was caused by a crash affecting CBA customers on July 2 and another at lunchtime on June 23, which was just days after another previous crash that also took down other banks. These crashes were attributed to a system outage caused by United States-based content delivery company Akamai Technologies' infrastructure temporarily failing [117212]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles seems to be primarily due to software issues rather than hardware. The incidents mentioned include online banking outages, problems with netbanking and EFTPOS payments, issues with accessing balances and making payments, and delays in transfers. These issues point towards software-related problems within the Commonwealth Bank's systems [117212]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles appears to be non-malicious in nature. The incidents were mainly attributed to technical issues and system outages affecting Commonwealth Bank and Bendigo Bank's online banking services. Users reported problems accessing their balances, making payments, and experiencing disruptions in services like netbanking and EFTPOS payments [117212]. The failures were not described as intentional or caused by malicious actors but rather as technical glitches and system failures. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles seems to be related to poor_decisions. The incidents of outages and online banking issues at Commonwealth Bank were a result of repeated failures in their online services, affecting customers' ability to access their accounts, make payments, and use netbanking and EFTPOS services. Customers expressed frustration and anger over the repeated problems, indicating a lack of effective decision-making or actions taken by the bank to address and prevent such failures [117212]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the repeated major outages experienced by Commonwealth Bank customers. Users expressed frustration and anger over the continuous issues with the bank's online banking system, indicating a lack of professional competence in maintaining a stable and reliable service [117212].
(b) The accidental nature of the software failure incident is highlighted in the article where a crash affecting CBA customers on July 2 was attributed to a system outage caused by the temporary failure of United States-based content delivery company Akamai Technologies' infrastructure. This incident was not intentional but rather a result of an accidental failure in the external service provider's infrastructure [117212]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident described in the articles is temporary. The incidents mentioned in the news articles highlight temporary outages experienced by Commonwealth Bank customers, with issues such as being unable to log in, access balances, make payments, and use online banking services. The bank acknowledged the problems, apologized to customers, and assured them that they were urgently investigating the issues to provide a resolution soon. Customers expressed frustration over the repeated problems they have been facing with the bank's online services, indicating that the failures were not permanent but rather intermittent and recurring [117212]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the articles is characterized by crashes, where the system loses its state and fails to perform its intended functions. Customers of Commonwealth Bank reported being unable to log in online, access their balance, make payments, or conduct transfers due to the crashes [117212].
(b) omission: The incident also involved omissions, where the system omitted to perform its intended functions at instances. Users reported not being able to buy lunch, transfer money to pay bills, or make Osko/PayID transfers due to the system failures [117212].
(c) timing: There is no specific mention of timing-related failures in the articles.
(d) value: The software failure incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly.
(e) byzantine: The incident did not exhibit behaviors of the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident is the repeated nature of the outages, with customers expressing frustration over the frequent crashes and issues with the bank's online banking services [117212]. |