Incident: Cyber-Attack Disrupts Sunderland University's IT Systems and Services

Published Date: 2021-10-15

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident at Sunderland University happened in October 2021 [Article 120031].
System 1. Telephone system 2. Website 3. IT systems The software failure incident at Sunderland University affected the telephone system, website, and IT systems [Article 120031].
Responsible Organization 1. Hackers targeted Sunderland University, causing the major cyber-attack that led to the software failure incident [Article 120031].
Impacted Organization 1. Sunderland University [120031]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident at Sunderland University was a major cyber-attack that targeted the telephone, website, and IT systems, leading to their offline status for several days [120031].
Non-software Causes 1. The failure incident at Sunderland University was caused by a "major cyber-attack" [120031]. 2. The attack resulted in extensive interruption to IT systems and services at the university [120031]. 3. The disruption was particularly upsetting as the university was recovering from the pandemic, indicating a potential motive related to the university's vulnerability during this period [120031]. 4. The attack targeted multiple universities in the region, suggesting a coordinated effort against educational institutions [120031].
Impacts 1. Telephone, website, and IT systems at Sunderland University were offline for several days, causing extensive interruption to IT systems and services [120031]. 2. The disruption resulted in a major cyber-attack, leading to uncertainty about when the issue would be resolved [120031]. 3. The incident affected students and teachers who had adjusted well to post-Covid-19 lockdown life, disrupting teaching and learning activities [120031]. 4. The university had to consult outside experts and take measures to protect the data it holds, indicating potential data security risks due to the cyber-attack [120031].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as regular security audits, penetration testing, and employee training to prevent cyber-attacks [120031]. 2. Ensuring timely software updates and patches to address known vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers [120031]. 3. Implementing multi-factor authentication to enhance the security of the university's IT systems and prevent unauthorized access [120031].
Fixes 1. Resolving the cyber-attack by implementing security measures and protocols to prevent future attacks [120031].
References 1. Sir David Bell, the vice-chancellor of Sunderland University [Article 120031]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: The article mentions that Newcastle and Northumbria Universities were targeted by hackers in September last year, indicating that similar incidents have happened before at educational institutions within the same region, possibly affecting Sunderland University as well [Article 120031]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: The article does not provide specific information about similar incidents happening at multiple organizations.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident at Sunderland University, described as a "major cyber-attack," resulted in the disruption of telephone, website, and IT systems for several days. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the attack was particularly upsetting as the university was recovering from the pandemic, indicating that the failure was likely due to contributing factors introduced during system development or updates [Article 120031]. (b) The same incident at Sunderland University also involved extensive interruption to IT systems and services for several days, impacting students and teachers. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the university was working hard to resolve the situation and consulting outside experts to maintain teaching and protect data, suggesting that the failure could also be attributed to contributing factors introduced by the operation or misuse of the system [Article 120031].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system, outside_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident at Sunderland University, described as a "major cyber-attack," resulted in the disruption of telephone, website, and IT systems at the university [Article 120031]. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the university was working hard to resolve the situation and consulting outside experts to maintain teaching and protect the data they hold. This indicates that the failure was primarily caused by factors originating from within the university's system. (b) outside_system: The article mentions that Newcastle and Northumbria Universities were targeted by hackers in the past, indicating a trend of cyber-attacks on educational institutions. This external threat landscape, with educational institutions being warned by the National Cyber Security Centre of a spike in attacks, suggests that the software failure incident at Sunderland University could also have been influenced by factors originating from outside the university's system [Article 120031].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident at Sunderland University was due to a non-human action, specifically a "major cyber-attack" as reported by the vice-chancellor. The attack caused disruption to the telephone, website, and IT systems at the university, leading to extensive interruption to their IT systems and services [Article 120031]. (b) The response to the incident involved human actions such as consulting outside experts and taking measures to maintain teaching and protect data. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the university was "doing all we can" to address the situation and ensure continuity of teaching and learning despite the cyber-attack [Article 120031].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident at Sunderland University was due to a major cyber-attack, which is a contributing factor originating in hardware. The attack caused disruption to telephone, website, and IT systems at the university, leading to extensive interruption to IT systems and services [120031]. (b) The software failure incident at Sunderland University was also due to a major cyber-attack, which is a contributing factor originating in software. The attack targeted the university's IT systems, causing them to be offline for several days and resulting in the need for outside experts to be consulted to resolve the situation [120031].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) malicious (a) The software failure incident at Sunderland University was malicious in nature, as it was caused by a "major cyber-attack" as reported by the vice-chancellor. The attack disrupted the telephone, website, and IT systems at the university, indicating that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by humans with the intent to harm the system [Article 120031].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown The articles do not provide specific information about the intent behind the software failure incident at Sunderland University. The incident is described as a "major cyber-attack," which suggests a deliberate and malicious intent rather than poor or accidental decisions. The vice-chancellor mentioned consulting outside experts and taking steps to protect the data, indicating a response to a deliberate attack rather than a failure caused by poor or accidental decisions [120031].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident at Sunderland University, described as a "major cyber-attack," resulted in the disruption of telephone, website, and IT systems for several days. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the attack was "particularly upsetting" as the university was recovering from the pandemic, indicating the severity of the incident [Article 120031]. (b) The article does not provide specific details to determine if the software failure incident was accidental in nature.
Duration temporary The software failure incident at Sunderland University, caused by a major cyber-attack, resulted in the telephone, website, and IT systems being offline for several days. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the disruption had been extensive, with an uncertain timeline for resolution, stating, "The obvious question is how long will this situation last? The honest answer at the moment is we just don't know" [Article 120031]. This uncertainty indicates that the duration of the software failure incident is temporary, as the resolution timeline is unclear due to the severity of the cyber-attack and the ongoing efforts to address the issue.
Behaviour crash, omission, value, other (a) crash: The software failure incident at Sunderland University resulted in the telephone, website, and IT systems being offline for several days due to a "major cyber-attack" [Article 120031]. (b) omission: The IT systems and services at the university experienced extensive interruption for the last few days, indicating a failure of the system to perform its intended functions [Article 120031]. (d) value: The incident led to the university facing disruption caused by the cyber-attack, impacting the ability to maintain teaching and learning as well as protect the data held by the university [Article 120031]. (f) other: The incident involved the university consulting outside experts and working hard to resolve the situation, indicating a response to a software failure that is not explicitly categorized in the provided options [Article 120031].

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 Sunderland University, described as a "major cyber-attack," resulted in extensive interruption to the university's IT systems and services for several days. The attack caused the telephone, website, and IT systems to be offline, impacting the university's ability to operate normally. The vice-chancellor mentioned that the university was working to protect the data they hold, indicating that data security and potential data loss were significant concerns [120031].
Domain information, knowledge, other (a) The failed system at Sunderland University, due to a major cyber-attack, impacted the production and distribution of information as it caused the telephone, website, and IT systems to be offline for several days [Article 120031]. (i) Additionally, the incident affected the education sector as the university's teaching and learning activities were disrupted, and efforts were made to maintain teaching and protect the data held by the institution [Article 120031]. (m) The incident can also be categorized under 'other' as it involved a cyber-attack on an educational institution, which is not explicitly covered in the provided industry options [Article 120031].

Sources

Back to List