| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
- Twilio suffered a breach that impacted 163 of its customer organizations, including secondary victims like Signal, Authy, and Okta [131212].
- Twilio was compromised as part of a phishing campaign against more than 130 organizations, indicating a significant breach within the organization [131212].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
- The phishing campaign targeted more than 130 organizations, with 114 victim companies based in the United States [131212].
- DoorDash and Mailchimp also reported breaches due to third-party service providers being compromised in phishing attacks, showing a trend of similar incidents across multiple organizations [131212]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the Twilio breach where attackers compromised Twilio as part of a massive phishing campaign against more than 130 organizations. The attackers targeted employees at these organizations through phishing SMS text messages that appeared to come from legitimate sources like the IT department or logistics team, urging recipients to click on malicious links to update passwords or review scheduling changes. The malicious URLs contained words like "Twilio," "Okta," or "SSO" to make them seem more legitimate, indicating a design flaw in the system's vulnerability to such attacks [131212].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase can be observed in the DoorDash breach where the company suffered a breach of internal systems and user data due to one of its third-party service providers being compromised. The unauthorized party gained access to DoorDash's internal tools by using stolen credentials of vendor employees, highlighting an operational failure in ensuring secure access and authentication procedures [131212]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident involving Twilio's breach was primarily due to contributing factors that originated from within the system. Attackers compromised Twilio as part of a phishing campaign, gaining access to the system and subsequently compromising other services like Authy and Signal [131212]. The breach was a result of vulnerabilities within Twilio's security measures, allowing attackers to exploit the system and compromise user accounts.
(b) outside_system: Additionally, the failure incident had contributing factors that originated from outside the system. The attackers conducted a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting multiple organizations, including Twilio, to gain unauthorized access. The phishing messages were designed to appear legitimate, tricking employees into clicking on malicious links and providing access to the system [131212]. The breach of Twilio's system was initiated externally through the phishing attack on employees of various organizations. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The Twilio breach was a result of a hacking campaign conducted by an actor known as "0ktapus" and "Scatter Swine" through a phishing attack targeting more than 130 organizations [131212].
- Attackers compromised Twilio as part of a massive yet tailored phishing campaign against multiple organizations, using phishing SMS text messages to trick employees into clicking malicious links [131212].
- The attackers used their Twilio access to compromise Authy accounts and initiate takeovers of Signal accounts, indicating a breach caused by non-human actions [131212].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The breach at DoorDash was attributed to a sophisticated phishing attack that compromised one of its third-party service providers [131212].
- Mailchimp also suffered a breach in a phishing attack on its employees, highlighting how human actions, such as falling for phishing attempts, can lead to software failures [131212]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The article mentions that the online food delivery service DoorDash suffered a breach of some internal systems and user data because one of its third-party service providers was compromised due to a sophisticated phishing attack [131212].
- Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure company, was targeted in the phishing campaign but stated that it wasn't compromised due to its limits on employee access and use of physical authentication keys for logins [131212].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- Twilio, a communication company, suffered a breach that impacted 163 of its customer organizations due to a hacking campaign conducted by an actor known as "0ktapus" and "Scatter Swine" [131212].
- Attackers compromised Twilio as part of a massive phishing campaign against more than 130 organizations by sending phishing SMS text messages to employees at the target companies [131212].
- The hackers used their Twilio access to compromise 93 Authy accounts and authorize additional devices controlled by the attacker instead of the account owner [131212].
- The Twilio breach potentially exposed 1,900 accounts on the encrypted communication app Signal, with attackers initiating takeovers of as many as three accounts [131212].
- Mailchimp, a marketing automation platform, was breached in a phishing attack on its employees [131212]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious, non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is malicious. The breach at Twilio was a result of a sophisticated phishing campaign conducted by attackers targeting more than 130 organizations, compromising Twilio and leading to unauthorized access to accounts of companies like Signal and Authy [131212]. The attackers used their access to compromise Authy accounts and initiate takeovers, demonstrating malicious intent to gain unauthorized control over systems and accounts [131212].
(b) The software failure incident is non-malicious. The breach at DoorDash was attributed to a third-party service provider being compromised due to a sophisticated phishing attack, where the unauthorized party used stolen credentials to access internal tools [131212]. Similarly, Mailchimp also suffered a breach in a phishing attack on its employees, indicating a non-malicious failure caused by human error or oversight [131212]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
The intent of the software failure incident related to the Twilio breach and subsequent phishing campaign can be attributed to both poor decisions and accidental decisions:
(a) poor_decisions: The incident involved poor decisions such as the use of SMS as an insecure method for two-factor authentication, which made organizations vulnerable to phishing attacks [131212].
(b) accidental_decisions: The breach occurred due to mistakes or unintended decisions made by employees who fell victim to sophisticated phishing attacks, leading to the compromise of vendor credentials and internal systems [131212]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the Twilio breach incident. The breach occurred due to a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting more than 130 organizations, including Twilio, Authy, Signal, and Okta [131212]. The attackers compromised Twilio through a targeted phishing SMS campaign, exploiting vulnerabilities in the system. This incident highlights the importance of professional competence in developing secure systems to prevent such breaches.
(b) The accidental software failure incident is demonstrated in the DoorDash breach, where the company suffered a breach of internal systems and user data due to a third-party service provider being compromised by a sophisticated phishing attack [131212]. The unauthorized party gained access to DoorDash's internal tools using stolen credentials from the vendor's employees. This accidental breach emphasizes the need for robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles seems to be more of a permanent nature. The breach at Twilio, which impacted 163 customer organizations, was a significant event that exposed vulnerabilities in the system and led to unauthorized access and compromise of accounts [131212]. The breach was a result of a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting multiple organizations, indicating a systemic issue that allowed attackers to exploit weaknesses in the system. Additionally, the incident involving DoorDash being breached due to a third-party service provider being compromised also points to a more permanent failure, as it highlights the risks associated with relying on external vendors for critical services [131212].
(b) The temporary aspect of the software failure incident is evident in the sense that the breach was a specific event that occurred within a certain timeframe. The breach was not an ongoing issue but rather a discrete incident that had immediate consequences for the affected organizations. The temporary nature of the failure is also highlighted by the fact that the breach was identified and addressed, with Twilio providing updates and taking steps to enhance security measures following the incident [131212]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the articles does not specifically mention a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [131212].
(b) omission: The incident involves a failure where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Attackers compromised Twilio as part of a phishing campaign against more than 130 organizations, sending phishing SMS text messages to employees at the target companies, urging them to click a link and update their password or log in [131212].
(c) timing: The articles do not mention a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [131212].
(d) value: The software failure incident involves a failure where the system performs its intended functions incorrectly. Attackers used their Twilio access to compromise Authy accounts and authorize additional devices controlled by the attacker instead of the account owner. The breach potentially exposed accounts on the encrypted communication app Signal, with attackers initiating takeovers of accounts [131212].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not involve a failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [131212].
(f) other: The software failure incident involves a failure where the system behaves in a way not described in the options (a) to (e). In this case, the failure is related to a security breach through a phishing campaign that compromised Twilio and impacted its customers, leading to unauthorized access and potential takeovers of accounts [131212]. |