| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
The FBI has been targeted in cyberattacks before. In December 2020, hackers backed by the Russian government monitored internal email traffic at the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce for months, using Microsoft's Office 365 software [121119].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
Russian President Vladimir Putin's SVR intelligence agency launched another hacking campaign against American companies, targeting 140 tech companies. This was the same Russian-based agency behind the massive SolarWinds cyberattack [121119]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where a hacker infiltrated an FBI email account and sent thousands of fake cyberattack emails to organizations. The incident involved the misuse of a legitimate FBI email address to send out fraudulent emails warning about a cyberattack, which could be attributed to vulnerabilities in the email system's design or security measures [121119].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the same article where the FBI had to take the impacted hardware offline quickly to mitigate the situation. This action was a response to the operation of the system, indicating that the failure was influenced by the operation or misuse of the system [121119]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the articles is primarily within the system. The incident involved a hacker infiltrating an FBI email account and sending thousands of fake cyberattack warning emails to organizations. The impacted hardware was taken offline quickly by the FBI, and the emails were sent from a legitimate FBI email address [121119]. The incident also involved the use of a legitimate FBI email address to send the fake cyberattack emails, indicating that the failure originated from within the system.
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident does not have significant contributing factors that originate from outside the system. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The software failure incident in Article 121119 occurred due to a hacker infiltrating an FBI email account and sending thousands of fake cyberattack warning emails to organizations [121119].
- The impacted hardware was taken offline quickly to mitigate the effects of the attack [121119].
- The emails were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department, indicating that the attack was orchestrated to appear legitimate [121119].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The incident involved human actions in the form of the hacker gaining unauthorized access to the FBI email account and sending out the fraudulent emails [121119].
- The FBI encouraged receivers of the emails to report any suspicious activity to relevant authorities, indicating a response to human actions [121119].
- The hacker behind the incident was possibly attempting to convince recipients to take certain actions, such as shutting down their systems or flooding the FBI with calls [121119]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The FBI email account hack incident involved the impact on hardware, which was 'taken offline quickly' as a response to the infiltration by a hacker [121119].
- The incident mentioned that the emails were sent from a legitimate FBI email address, but the 'impacted software was taken offline quickly' [121119].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The incident involved fake cyberattack emails being sent from a legitimate FBI email address, indicating a software-related issue [121119].
- The emails in question were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department, pointing to a software aspect of the failure incident [121119]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is malicious. A hacker infiltrated an FBI email account and sent thousands of fake cyberattack emails to organizations, causing disruption and potentially aiming to convince recipients to take actions that could harm their systems [121119]. Additionally, the incident is part of a series of cyberattacks against the FBI, including previous attacks by hackers backed by the Russian government [121119].
(b) There is no information in the articles to suggest that the software failure incident was non-malicious. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident:
- The software failure incident involving the FBI email account being hacked and used to send fake cyberattack emails to thousands of organizations was likely due to poor decisions made by the hacker behind the attack. The hacker's intent could have been to convince people to shut down their systems, flood the FBI with calls, or simply for amusement ("for the lulz"). The emails were designed to create panic and potentially cause severe damage to the recipients' infrastructure [121119].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident:
- The software failure incident involving the FBI email account being hacked and used to send fake cyberattack emails to thousands of organizations could also be attributed to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The emails were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department, creating a false sense of urgency and potentially leading recipients to take actions that could harm their systems. The hacker's actions may have been accidental in the sense that they did not have a specific targeted goal beyond causing chaos and confusion [121119]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as a hacker infiltrated an FBI email account and sent thousands of fake cyberattack emails to organizations. The incident involved the misuse of a legitimate FBI email address to send alarming messages, causing confusion and potential harm to the recipients [121119].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is not explicitly mentioned in the provided articles. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles appears to be temporary. The incident involved a hacker infiltrating an FBI email account and sending thousands of fake cyberattack warning emails to organizations. The impacted hardware was taken offline quickly, and the FBI confirmed that the impacted software was also taken offline promptly [121119]. This indicates that the failure was temporary and not permanent. |
| Behaviour |
omission, other |
(a) crash:
- The impacted hardware was 'taken offline quickly' [121119].
- The federal agency's statement confirmed the messages were sent to thousands of organizations from a legitimate FBI email address but said the 'impacted software was taken offline quickly' [121119].
(b) omission:
- The FBI confirmed that the federal agency sent fake cyberattack emails to 10,000 inboxes but noted that the impacted hardware was 'taken offline quickly' on Saturday [121119].
- The emails - which had the subject 'Urgent: Threat actor in systems' - were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department [121119].
(c) timing:
- The FBI confirmed that the federal agency sent fake cyberattack emails to 10,000 inboxes but noted that the impacted hardware was 'taken offline quickly' on Saturday [121119].
- The emails - which had the subject 'Urgent: Threat actor in systems' - were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department [121119].
(d) value:
- The emails - which had the subject 'Urgent: Threat actor in systems' - were signed off by the DHS Cyber Threat Detection and Analysis Department [121119].
- The account also took to Twitter to warn that 'these fake warning emails' were being 'sent to addresses scraped from ARIN databases' [121119].
(e) byzantine:
- Spamhaus, a European nonprofit dedicated to tracking digital threats, suggested that the hacker behind the emails was possibly convincing people to shut down their systems, flood the FBI with calls or simple 'for the lulz' - or laughs [121119].
- 'Maybe all of the above. Maybe something else!' the account tweeted, adding in a later post: 'Who knows what goes on in the minds of people who do these things?' [121119].
(f) other:
- The FBI noted that the situation is still 'ongoing' [121119].
- The FBI said in its statement that the situation is 'ongoing' [121119]. |