| Recurring |
multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Illuminate Education's student-tracking software has happened again at multiple organizations. The incident affected not only New York City schools but also impacted an additional 174,000 students in 22 school districts across the state of New York, as well as more than a dozen other districts in Connecticut, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Washington State [129859]. This indicates a widespread impact of the software failure incident across multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase is evident in the cyberattack on Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software. The incident involved unauthorized access to sensitive student data, including personal information such as names, dates of birth, races or ethnicities, test scores, behavior incidents, and descriptions of disabilities. This breach highlighted the inadequate safeguards for student data, indicating a failure in the design and implementation of security measures to protect such confidential information [129859].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is demonstrated by the discovery of suspicious activity on Illuminate Education's network, leading to the temporary shutdown of online attendance and grade book systems used by teachers in New York City schools. This disruption in the operation of the software indicated vulnerabilities in the system's operational security, potentially allowing for unauthorized access and compromising student data [129859]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident involving Illuminate Education's student-tracking software was primarily due to factors originating from within the system. The cyberattack on Illuminate Education resulted in unauthorized access to sensitive student data, including personal information, test scores, behavior incidents, and descriptions of disabilities [129859]. The incident highlighted the lack of adequate safeguards for student data despite the company's promotion of cybersecurity measures. Illuminate Education had to implement security enhancements to prevent further cyberattacks after the breach [129859]. The incident also led to concerns about the company's data storage practices on Amazon Web Services and the need for improved security measures [129859].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident was exacerbated by contributing factors that originated from outside the system. The cyberattack on Illuminate Education was carried out by external threat actors who targeted the company's student-tracking software, leading to the unauthorized access and exposure of sensitive student information [129859]. Additionally, the incident raised concerns about the broader issue of cyberattacks on school software vendors, indicating a larger external threat landscape impacting the education technology sector [129859]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Illuminate Education cyberattack was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically a cyberattack on the student-tracking software system. The incident involved unauthorized access to company databases, potentially exposing sensitive student information across multiple school districts [129859].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in the software failure incident. The articles mention concerns about inadequate safeguards for student data, lack of enforcement of student privacy pledges by regulatory agencies, and the failure of tech companies to prioritize student data privacy and security. Additionally, the articles highlight the need for modern data protections for students and accountability for ed tech firms violating privacy regulations [129859]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not provide information about the software failure incident occurring due to hardware issues [129859].
(b) The software failure incident reported in the articles is due to a cyberattack on Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software, which resulted in unauthorized access to student data [129859]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles is malicious in nature, as it was a result of a cyberattack on Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software. The cyberattack affected the personal information of more than a million current and former students across multiple school districts, including sensitive details such as names, dates of birth, races or ethnicities, test scores, student tardiness rates, migrant status, behavior incidents, and descriptions of disabilities [129859].
The incident involved unauthorized access to company databases, potentially exposing student information to misuse. The exposure of such private information, including delicate personal details about students, could have long-term consequences on the affected individuals [129859]. The cyberattack on Illuminate Education is seen as a warning for industry and government regulators, highlighting the inadequate safeguards for student data in the education technology sector [129859]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
The intent of the software failure incident can be attributed to both poor decisions and accidental decisions:
(a) poor_decisions: The incident involving the cyberattack on Illuminate Education's student-tracking software can be linked to poor decisions made by tech companies and education reformers who pushed schools to adopt software systems without adequate safeguards for student data privacy and security [129859].
(b) accidental_decisions: The incident can also be seen as a result of accidental decisions or unintended consequences, where the rapid spread of sophisticated data-mining tools in schools outpaced protections for students' personal information, leading to vulnerabilities that were exploited in the cyberattack [129859]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as it highlights the failure of tech companies and education reformers to adequately protect student data despite warnings and regulations in place [129859]. The incident involving Illuminate Education's student-tracking software being hacked and exposing sensitive student information, including personal details and disabilities, showcases a failure in safeguarding student data, indicating a lack of professional competence in ensuring data security.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is not explicitly mentioned in the articles provided. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as temporary. The incident involved a cyberattack on Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software, which affected the personal information of more than a million current and former students across dozens of districts [129859]. The incident occurred between December 28, 2021, and January 8, 2022, during which student information was potentially subject to unauthorized access [129859]. Illuminate Education took its online attendance and grade book systems offline after discovering suspicious activity on its network [129859]. The company implemented security enhancements to prevent further cyberattacks and made numerous security upgrades after the incident [129859]. Additionally, Illuminate hired six additional full-time security and compliance employees, including a chief information security officer, and enforced improved login security for its Amazon Web Services files [129859]. These actions indicate that the software failure incident was temporary and measures were taken to address the security vulnerabilities that led to the breach. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as a crash as the system lost state and was not performing its intended functions. The cyberattack on Illuminate Education's student-tracking software led to unauthorized access to student data, affecting over a million current and former students across multiple school districts [129859].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be categorized as an omission as the system omitted to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). The cyberattack resulted in the exposure of sensitive student information, including names, dates of birth, races, test scores, behavior incidents, and descriptions of disabilities, which should have been safeguarded by the software [129859].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not align with a timing failure, as there is no indication in the articles that the system performed its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be categorized as a value failure as the system performed its intended functions incorrectly by allowing unauthorized access to sensitive student data, violating privacy and security protocols [129859].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not align with a byzantine failure, as there is no mention of inconsistent responses or interactions within the system.
(f) other: The software failure incident can also be categorized as a failure due to a security breach, where the system failed to protect sensitive student information from unauthorized access, leading to potential long-term consequences for the affected students [129859]. |