| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
The software failure incident involving the Conti ransomware attack on Costa Rica's government systems is a notable case of a cyber-attack affecting multiple organizations. The Conti ransomware group has a history of targeting various entities, as mentioned in the article. Specifically, in May 2021, Conti carried out a "catastrophic hack" of the Irish Health Service [127912]. Additionally, the article highlights that Conti has targeted other countries as well, with recent attacks reported in Costa Rica and Peru [127912]. This indicates that the software failure incident involving the Conti ransomware group has impacted multiple organizations beyond just Costa Rica. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in Costa Rica, where hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions and caused major disruption to IT systems, can be attributed to the design phase. The incident was a result of cyber-criminals targeting government ministries and state-run utilities, indicating a failure due to contributing factors introduced by system development and updates [127912].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident in Costa Rica, which led to disruptions in government departments and affected services like automatic payment systems, can also be linked to the operation phase. The hack impacted the operation of various government functions, such as issuing certificates regarding salaries owed to civil servants, highlighting a failure due to contributing factors introduced by the operation or misuse of the system [127912]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident in Costa Rica, where government institutions were infiltrated by hackers from the Conti ransomware cartel, causing major disruption to IT systems, is primarily a failure within the system. The attack affected 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities, leading to disruptions in services such as automatic payment systems for civil servants and foreign trade operations [127912]. The incident highlights vulnerabilities within the government's IT systems and cybersecurity measures, indicating that the failure originated from within the system itself. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in Costa Rica, attributed to the Conti ransomware cartel, was primarily caused by non-human actions. The hackers infiltrated government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities, through cyber-criminal activities [127912]. The incident involved the deployment of ransomware and the posting of threats and demands online, indicating actions taken by automated systems rather than direct human involvement in causing the failure.
(b) However, human actions also played a role in the response to the software failure incident. President Rodrigo Chaves declared the incident a "national emergency" and outlined a "Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures" in response to the hack [127912]. Additionally, the government had to warn civil servants about delays in payment processing and provide alternative methods for salary applications due to the disruption caused by the cyber-attack [127912]. These human actions were in response to the failure caused by non-human actions initiated by the hackers. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident in Costa Rica, where cyber-criminals caused major disruption to IT systems of government ministries, was primarily due to a hardware failure. The hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions, affecting municipalities and state-run utilities [127912]. The attack disrupted automatic payment services, leading to delays in civil servants' salaries and the need for manual applications [127912]. Additionally, the attacks impacted the country's foreign trade by hitting tax and customs systems [127912].
(b) The software failure incident was also attributed to contributing factors originating in software. The Conti ransomware cartel, believed to be run from Russia, demanded a ransom of $20 million and threatened to delete decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems unless paid within a week [127912]. The hackers posted appeals online and used aggressive threats to pressure the Costa Rican government to pay the ransom [127912]. The attack involved ransomware tactics, indicating a software-related failure in terms of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and exploitation by the hackers [127912]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is malicious. The incident involved a cyber-attack by the Conti ransomware cartel, which infiltrated 27 government institutions in Costa Rica, including municipalities and state-run utilities. The hackers demanded a ransom of $20 million and threatened to delete decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems unless the ransom was paid within a week. The attackers also posted over 600 gigabytes of government data online and made aggressive threats to pressure the Costa Rican government to pay. The incident was declared a "national emergency" by the president of Costa Rica, indicating the severity of the attack and the malicious intent behind it [127912].
(b) The software failure incident in this case is non-malicious. The incident was caused by a cyber-attack using ransomware, which is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. The attack disrupted IT systems in various government ministries in Costa Rica, affecting services such as automatic payment systems for civil servants and foreign trade operations. The attack led to delays in salary payments and the suspension of services related to salary certificates. The government had to implement emergency measures to address the disruption caused by the attack, indicating that the incident was non-malicious in nature [127912]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
The software failure incident reported in Article 127912 was primarily due to poor decisions made by the government in response to the cyber-attack by the Conti ransomware group. President Rodrigo Chaves declared a state of national emergency and blamed his predecessor for not taking the cyber-attack seriously enough. The government's response to the attack, including the decision not to pay the ransom and the subsequent disruption to government departments and services, can be attributed to poor decisions made in handling the incident [127912]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be attributed to development incompetence. President Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica declared a state of emergency and outlined a "Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures" in response to cyber-criminals causing major disruption to IT systems of government ministries [127912]. The incident involved hackers infiltrating 27 government institutions, affecting services like automatic payment systems for civil servants and foreign trade operations [127912]. The hackers, identified as the Conti ransomware cartel, demanded a ransom of $20 million and threatened to delete decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems unless paid within a week [127912]. The incident highlights the severity of the attack and the government's struggle to deal with the cyber-criminals, indicating a failure in cybersecurity measures possibly due to a lack of professional competence in handling such threats. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in Costa Rica, where government institutions were infiltrated by Conti hackers, can be considered as a temporary failure. This is evident from the fact that the attack caused major disruption to IT systems of numerous government ministries, affecting services such as automatic payment services, issuance of certificates regarding salaries, and foreign trade systems [Article 127912]. The temporary nature of the failure is highlighted by the need for civil servants to apply for their salaries by email or on paper by hand until the systems are restored, indicating that the disruption is not permanent but rather caused by specific circumstances introduced by the cyber-attack. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in Costa Rica involved a crash as the government IT systems experienced major disruption, affecting 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities. The attack led to the suspension of services such as automatic payment systems, resulting in civil servants not being paid on time [127912].
(b) omission: The software failure incident also involved omission as the attack affected the issuance of certificates regarding the amounts of salaries owed to civil servants, leading to the suspension of this service until the systems were restored. Civil servants were instructed to apply for their salaries via email or in person by hand due to the omission of the automated payment services [127912].
(c) timing: The software failure incident did not specifically involve timing issues where the system performed its intended functions but at the wrong time.
(d) value: The software failure incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly.
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit byzantine behavior where the system behaved erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The software failure incident also involved the threat of deleting decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems to normality if the ransom was not paid within a week. This behavior can be categorized as a form of coercion and manipulation by the hackers [127912]. |