Incident: Android Glitch Causes Spike in 999 Calls for Lincolnshire Police

Published Date: 2023-08-04

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident of the Android glitch causing a spike in 999 calls happened in June, as mentioned in Article [131405]. Therefore, the software failure incident happened in June.
System 1. Android smartphone software update [131405]
Responsible Organization 1. Android smartphone glitch [131405]
Impacted Organization 1. Lincolnshire Police [131405]
Software Causes 1. An Android smartphone glitch triggered the Emergency SOS feature when a side button was pressed repeatedly, leading to a sharp rise in 999 calls [131405].
Non-software Causes 1. Pressing the side button on Android smartphones triggering the Emergency SOS feature [131405].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident led to a sharp rise in 999 calls for Lincolnshire Police, with a record 13,713 emergency calls in June [131405]. 2. The incident caused an average of 110 abandoned or silent calls per day, significantly higher than the previous average of around 50 per day [131405]. 3. The high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls strained emergency services and required follow-up on each call, impacting operational efficiency [131405]. 4. The incident highlighted the need for better management of features like Emergency SOS on Android devices to prevent unintentional emergency calls [131405].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough testing procedures before releasing software updates to catch any potential glitches or bugs [131405]. 2. Providing clear guidance and resources to manufacturers by Android to help them manage features like Emergency SOS effectively on their devices [131405]. 3. Promptly releasing patches or updates to address identified software issues, as was done in this case in early July to mitigate the Android glitch causing the spike in 999 calls [131405].
Fixes 1. Manufacturers offering Android smartphones can manage how the Emergency SOS feature works on their devices to prevent unintentional emergency calls [131405].
References 1. Lincolnshire Police 2. Google 3. Local Democracy Reporting Service

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident related to the Android glitch triggering Emergency SOS calls has happened again within the same organization, Lincolnshire Police. The article mentions that in June, the force dealt with a record number of emergency calls due to the Android update issue, surpassing the previous record set in August 2022 [131405]. (b) The software failure incident related to the Android glitch triggering Emergency SOS calls has also affected multiple organizations or their products. The article mentions that the issue with the Android update causing a spike in abandoned or silent 999 calls was not unique to Lincolnshire Police but was a national trend, indicating that other organizations or regions may have experienced similar problems with the Android glitch [131405].
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident in the article is related to the design phase. The spike in 999 calls was attributed to an Android smartphone glitch triggered by an update, specifically the Emergency SOS feature being activated when a side button is pressed repeatedly. This issue was linked to the Android update and how the feature worked on the phones [131405]. (b) The software failure incident is also related to the operation phase. The high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls was a result of users inadvertently triggering the Emergency SOS feature on their Android smartphones, leading to a surge in emergency calls. The article mentions that people were urged not to hang up if they dialed 999 by mistake, indicating that user operation or misuse of the system played a role in the failure incident [131405].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system, outside_system The software failure incident reported in Article 131405 regarding the spike in 999 calls for Lincolnshire Police can be analyzed as follows: (a) within_system: The software failure incident was primarily attributed to an Android smartphone glitch triggered by an update. The Emergency SOS feature was activated when a side button was pressed repeatedly, leading to a significant increase in abandoned or silent 999 calls. The issue was specifically linked to the Android software, indicating an internal system failure within the Android operating system [131405]. (b) outside_system: While the root cause of the failure was identified within the Android software, it is worth noting that the management of how the Emergency SOS feature worked on the devices was left to the manufacturers who chose to offer it. Google, the developer of Android software, mentioned that it was up to the manufacturers to manage the feature on their phones. This aspect suggests that there could have been external factors related to the device manufacturers' implementation or configuration of the Emergency SOS feature that contributed to the software failure incident [131405].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case was attributed to a glitch in the Android smartphone software, specifically related to an Android update triggering the Emergency SOS feature when a side button is pressed repeatedly. This glitch led to a sharp rise in 999 calls, with a significant number of abandoned or silent calls being registered by Lincolnshire Police [131405]. (b) Human actions were also involved in addressing the software failure incident. The article mentions that Google, the developer of the Android software, stated that it was up to manufacturers to manage how the Emergency SOS feature worked on their devices. Additionally, a patch released in early July was expected to have addressed the issue, indicating human intervention to resolve the software glitch [131405].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident in the article is attributed to an Android smartphone glitch, specifically related to an Android update triggering the Emergency SOS feature when a side button is pressed repeatedly. This glitch led to a sharp rise in 999 calls, with an average of 110 abandoned or silent calls a day [131405]. (b) The software failure incident is directly linked to the Android operating system and the update released for Android smartphones. The issue was acknowledged by Google, the developer of the Android software, which provided guidance and resources to manufacturers to prevent unintentional emergency calls on their devices. A patch released in early July was aimed at addressing the issue [131405].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident related to the spike in 999 calls at Lincolnshire Police due to an Android glitch is categorized as non-malicious. The incident was attributed to an Android smartphone update that triggered the Emergency SOS feature when a side button was pressed repeatedly. The spike in calls was not intentional but rather a result of the glitch in the software, leading to an exceptionally high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls [131405].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions (a) The software failure incident related to the spike in 999 calls for Lincolnshire Police due to an Android glitch can be attributed to poor decisions made in the software design or implementation process. The incident was caused by an Android smartphone update triggering the Emergency SOS feature when a side button is pressed repeatedly, leading to a significant increase in abandoned or silent 999 calls [131405]. Additionally, Google, the developer of the Android software, mentioned that it was up to manufacturers to manage how the feature worked on their phones, indicating a potential lack of coordination or oversight in the software development process that contributed to the issue.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident in the article is not attributed to development incompetence. Instead, it is linked to an Android glitch that triggered the Emergency SOS feature when a side button on Android smartphones was pressed repeatedly. The issue was acknowledged by Google, the developer of the Android software, and a patch was released to address the problem [131405]. (b) The software failure incident in the article is categorized as accidental. The spike in 999 calls was due to an Android glitch that caused an exceptionally high number of abandoned or silent emergency calls when the side button on Android smartphones was pressed repeatedly. This unintended consequence was not intentional but rather a result of the glitch in the software [131405].
Duration temporary The software failure incident related to the spike in 999 calls due to an Android glitch can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident was attributed to an Android smartphone update that triggered the Emergency SOS feature when a side button was pressed repeatedly. The article mentions that a patch released in early July was expected to have addressed the issue, indicating that the failure was not permanent but rather temporary and could be resolved with a software update [131405].
Behaviour crash, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is related to a crash. The Android glitch caused a sharp rise in 999 calls, with an average of 110 abandoned or silent calls a day, indicating a failure of the system to perform its intended functions [131405]. (b) omission: The incident does not specifically mention a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) [131405]. (c) timing: The incident does not specifically mention a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early [131405]. (d) value: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [131405]. (e) byzantine: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [131405]. (f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident is the unintended triggering of the Emergency SOS feature on Android phones when a side button is pressed repeatedly, leading to a high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls [131405].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, non-human, theoretical_consequence (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure - There is no mention of any deaths resulting from the software failure incident reported in the article [131405]. (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure - There is no mention of physical harm to individuals due to the software failure incident reported in the article [131405]. (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure - There is no mention of people's access to food or shelter being impacted by the software failure incident reported in the article [131405]. (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure - The software failure incident led to a sharp rise in 999 calls, with an average of 110 abandoned or silent calls a day, which could potentially impact the efficiency of emergency services and the allocation of resources [131405]. (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure - The software failure incident did not mention any specific activities being postponed due to the issue [131405]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure - The software failure incident primarily affected the functionality of Android smartphones, triggering the Emergency SOS feature unintentionally, leading to a high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls [131405]. (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure - The software failure incident resulted in a significant increase in abandoned or silent 999 calls, impacting the efficiency of emergency services and requiring follow-ups on each silent emergency call, indicating real consequences of the incident [131405]. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur - The article mentions that a patch released in early July was expected to have addressed the issue, suggesting that potential consequences discussed, such as continued high numbers of abandoned or silent 999 calls, may have been mitigated by the patch [131405]. (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? - There are no other consequences mentioned in the article beyond the impact on emergency services and the high number of abandoned or silent 999 calls due to the Android glitch [131405].
Domain information (a) The failed system in this incident was related to the industry of information as it involved the functioning of Android smartphones and the Emergency SOS feature, which impacted the ability to make emergency calls [131405].

Sources

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