Incident: Cyberattack on Geographic Solutions Disrupts Unemployment Benefits Across States

Published Date: 2022-07-01

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident happened this week, as mentioned in the article [129079]. 2. Published on 2022-07-01 07:00:00+00:00. 3. The incident occurred in June 2022.
System 1. Geographic Solutions' computer network 2. Nebraska's state unemployment benefits system [129079]
Responsible Organization 1. Cybercriminals targeted Geographic Solutions, the Florida-based IT provider, causing the software failure incident [129079].
Impacted Organization 1. Unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC were impacted by the software failure incident at Geographic Solutions [129079].
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident was an apparent cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions, leading to anomalous activity on its computer network [129079].
Non-software Causes 1. The cyberattack on Geographic Solutions was a result of anomalous activity on its computer network, leading to disruption of unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC [129079]. 2. The incident was described as a "cyberattack" by the Nebraska Department of Labor [129079]. 3. The interruption at Geographic Solutions had ripple effects across the country, impacting various states' unemployment systems and job search capabilities [129079]. 4. US officials have warned about the potential for cybercriminals to strike over long holiday weekends when IT teams are sometimes out of the office, indicating a timing vulnerability [129079].
Impacts 1. Unemployment payments were delayed for people in Tennessee and Nebraska, affecting about 12,000 individuals who rely on the program [129079]. 2. In Washington, residents were unable to file new paid family leave claims and conduct job searches using a tool provided by Geographic Solutions [129079]. 3. Nebraska's state unemployment benefits system was still offline as of Friday evening, causing ongoing disruptions [129079].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as regular security audits, penetration testing, and employee training to prevent cyberattacks like the one experienced by Geographic Solutions [129079]. 2. Ensuring timely software updates and patches to address any known vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals [129079]. 3. Implementing a comprehensive incident response plan to quickly detect and mitigate any anomalous activity on the network before it escalates into a full-blown cyberattack [129079].
Fixes 1. Conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident, as mentioned by Geographic Solutions [129079]. 2. Taking steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again, as stated by Geographic Solutions [129079]. 3. Working around the clock to restore all systems affected by the cyberattack, as mentioned by Geographic Solutions [129079].
References 1. Geographic Solutions 2. Nebraska Department of Labor 3. US Department of Labor 4. Federal Reserve 5. Kaseya [129079]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - The incident involving a cyberattack on Geographic Solutions in Florida is reminiscent of a previous ransomware attack on another Florida-based IT vendor, Kaseya, that occurred a year ago [129079]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - The article does not mention any specific instances of similar incidents happening at multiple organizations.
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident at Geographic Solutions was attributed to an apparent cyberattack, causing disruption to unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. The company described "anomalous activity" on its computer network, leading to the immediate shutdown of some systems to halt the activity. Geographic Solutions is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident, with a focus on preventing such incidents in the future ([129079]). (b) The operation of the software system was impacted as residents in Washington were unable to file new paid family leave claims and conduct job searches using a tool provided by Geographic Solutions. Additionally, Nebraska's state unemployment benefits system remained offline, with the vendor actively working on bringing the system back online. The incident highlighted how an interruption at a single software provider can have ripple effects across the country, emphasizing the importance of operational stability ([129079]).
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system, outside_system (a) The software failure incident at Geographic Solutions was due to anomalous activity on its computer network, which the Nebraska Department of Labor described as a "cyberattack" [129079]. Geographic Solutions took some systems offline immediately to halt the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident. This indicates that the failure originated from within the system itself.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident at Geographic Solutions was attributed to an apparent cyberattack, which is a non-human action [129079]. The incident involved anomalous activity on the company's computer network, leading to disruptions in unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. Geographic Solutions took systems offline to halt the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident. The company is also working with third-party specialists to prevent such incidents in the future. (b) The article does not provide specific information about the software failure incident being caused by human actions.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) unknown (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 129079 was due to a cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions. The incident involved anomalous activity on the company's computer network, which was described as a "cyberattack" by the Nebraska Department of Labor. Geographic Solutions took some systems offline to halt the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident. The incident resulted in disruptions to unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC, highlighting how an interruption at a single software provider can have ripple effects across the country [129079]. (b) The software failure incident was not specifically attributed to a software-related issue in the articles. The focus of the incident was on the cyberattack and the impact it had on the services provided by Geographic Solutions. The cause of the disruption was primarily linked to external factors such as the cyberattack rather than internal software issues [129079].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) malicious (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 129079 was malicious in nature. It was described as an apparent cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions, disrupting unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. The Nebraska Department of Labor specifically referred to it as a "cyberattack." Geographic Solutions mentioned "anomalous activity" on its computer network and took systems offline to halt the activity. The incident is being investigated by third-party specialists to determine the cause and scope, indicating that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by humans with the intent to harm the system [129079].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions: - The incident involved an apparent cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions, disrupting unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC [129079]. - Geographic Solutions described "anomalous activity" on its computer network but did not specify the cause initially [129079]. - The incident led to delays in unemployment payments in Tennessee and Nebraska, as well as prevented residents in Washington from filing new paid family leave claims and conducting job searches [129079]. - Geographic Solutions took some systems offline immediately after discovering the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident [129079]. (b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions: - The incident was initially described as "anomalous activity" on Geographic Solutions' computer network, indicating that the cause may not have been intentional or planned [129079]. - Geographic Solutions did not specify the cause of the disruption initially, suggesting that it may have been an unintended consequence rather than a deliberate action [129079]. - The incident resulted in the outage of systems and services provided by Geographic Solutions, impacting various states and residents [129079]. - The company is working to restore all systems and prevent such incidents from happening again, indicating a focus on addressing the unintended consequences of the cyberattack [129079].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) unknown (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. (b) The software failure incident was reported to be an apparent cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions, disrupting unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. The incident was described as a "cyberattack" by the Nebraska Department of Labor, and Geographic Solutions mentioned "anomalous activity" on its computer network. The company took some systems offline to halt the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident [129079].
Duration temporary The software failure incident reported in Article 129079 was temporary. The incident involved a cyberattack on Florida-based IT provider Geographic Solutions, leading to disruptions in unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. Geographic Solutions took some systems offline immediately after discovering the anomalous activity on its network to halt the cyberattack. The company is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident and is working around the clock to restore all systems. The incident was not described as a permanent failure, as efforts are being made to recover and prevent such incidents in the future [129079].
Behaviour other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [129079]. (b) omission: The software failure incident in the article is not described as an omission where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) [129079]. (c) timing: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a timing issue where the system performs its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early [129079]. (d) value: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a value issue where the system performs its intended functions incorrectly [129079]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a byzantine behavior where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [129079]. (f) other: The software failure incident in the article is related to a cyberattack on an IT provider, Geographic Solutions, which disrupted unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. The cause of the incident was described as "anomalous activity" on the company's computer network, with the Nebraska Department of Labor calling it a "cyberattack." The company took systems offline to halt the activity and is conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident. The incident is not specifically categorized into the behaviors mentioned in options (a) to (e) [129079].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence delay (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? The consequence of the software failure incident described in the articles is primarily related to delays in unemployment payments and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC. The incident disrupted the ability of residents to file new paid family leave claims, conduct job searches, and access unemployment benefits systems. The outage caused inconvenience and financial uncertainty for individuals relying on these services, but there were no reports of physical harm, loss of life, or direct property damage as a result of the software failure incident [129079].
Domain information (a) The failed system was intended to support the information industry as it disrupted unemployment and workforce benefits for thousands of people in multiple states and Washington, DC [Article 129079].

Sources

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