Incident: Software Bug Allegation in Brazilian Presidential Election Causing Dispute

Published Date: 2022-11-22

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident, involving a software bug in Brazil's electronic voting machines, happened around October 2022. [135197]
System 1. Brazil's electronic voting system [135197]
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident was caused by a software bug as claimed by President Jair Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party [135197].
Impacted Organization 1. President Jair Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party [135197]
Software Causes 1. A software bug was blamed by President Jair Bolsonaro for the failure incident, leading to demands for the annulment of votes cast on Brazil's electronic voting machines [135197].
Non-software Causes 1. Lack of individual identification numbers in internal logs of voting machines dating from before 2020 [135197] 2. President Bolsonaro's refusal to concede defeat or congratulate his opponent, leaving room for supporters to draw their own conclusions [135197] 3. Claims of election fraud by Bolsonaro and his supporters without presenting evidence [135197] 4. President Bolsonaro's absence from public appearances due to a skin infection on his legs [135197]
Impacts 1. The software bug alleged by President Bolsonaro led to demands for the annulment of votes cast on a significant number of Brazil's electronic voting machines, potentially affecting the election results [135197]. 2. The bug was claimed to have caused "irreparable non-compliance due to malfunction," casting doubt on the authenticity of the election results [135197]. 3. The incident resulted in protests across the country, with Bolsonaro's supporters refusing to accept the declared victory of his opponent and making claims of election fraud [135197]. 4. The software failure incident created a situation where the electoral authority had to issue a ruling and consider the complaint within a specified timeframe, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the election outcome [135197]. 5. The incident highlighted concerns about the security and reliability of Brazil's electronic voting system, with calls for audits and investigations into the election process [135197].
Preventions 1. Implementing a more thorough testing process for the software to detect any bugs or malfunctions before the election [135197]. 2. Ensuring that all voting machines have individual identification numbers in their internal logs to maintain transparency and authenticity of the results [135197]. 3. Providing a digital record of every individual vote to comply with the law and enhance the auditability of the electoral process [135197].
Fixes 1. Conducting a thorough audit of the electronic voting system to ensure transparency and accuracy [135197] 2. Implementing a system that provides a digital record of every individual vote to comply with the law and enhance security [135197]
References 1. President Jair Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party, as they blamed a software bug and demanded the electoral authority annul votes [135197] 2. Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa and an auditor hired by the party who evaluated the voting machines [135197] 3. Political analyst Creomar de Souza of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy [135197] 4. Experts like Wilson Ruggiero, a professor of computer engineering, and digital systems at the Polytechnic School of the University of Sao Paulo, and Diego Aranha, an associate professor of systems security at Aarhus University in Denmark [135197]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, unknown (a) The software failure incident related to the Brazilian electronic voting system being blamed on a software bug has happened within the same organization, which is the electoral authority in Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections, demanding the annulment of votes cast on most of the nation's electronic voting machines [135197]. (b) There is no information in the provided article about the software failure incident happening at multiple organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) operation The software failure incident reported in the news article [135197] is related to the operation phase rather than the design phase. The incident was attributed to a software bug that was discovered in the operation of the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections. President Bolsonaro blamed the software bug for the election results and demanded the annulment of votes cast on a significant number of electronic voting machines. The bug was identified during the operation of the machines, leading to concerns about the authenticity of the results and calls for a reevaluation of the election outcome. The issue was related to the operation and functioning of the voting machines during the electoral process rather than a design flaw introduced during system development or updates.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article is related to a software bug that President Jair Bolsonaro blamed for the election results. The bug was characterized as "irreparable non-compliance due to malfunction" by the complaint filed on behalf of Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party [135197]. The bug was detected within the voting machines used in the election, specifically in the lack of individual identification numbers in internal logs of machines dating from before 2020, affecting nearly 59% of the total machines used in the runoff [135197]. Experts mentioned in the article confirmed that the bug did not undermine the reliability or credibility of the election results and that each voting machine could still be identified through other means like its city and voting district [135197]. (b) outside_system: The article does not provide information indicating that the software failure incident was caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case is attributed to a non-human action, specifically a software bug. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines and demanded the annulment of votes cast on a significant number of machines due to the bug [135197]. (b) Human actions also played a role in this incident as President Bolsonaro and his party filed a request to annul votes based on the perceived software bug. Additionally, the Liberal Party hired an auditor to evaluate the machines and present their findings to challenge the election results [135197].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident reported in the news article is not related to hardware issues. The incident is specifically attributed to a software bug that President Jair Bolsonaro blamed for the alleged malfunction in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections [135197]. The bug was described as causing "irreparable non-compliance due to malfunction" and was the basis for the demand to annul votes cast on a significant number of electronic voting machines [135197]. (b) The software failure incident in the news article is directly linked to a software bug. President Bolsonaro and his party filed a complaint citing a software bug as the reason for questioning the authenticity of the election results. The bug was described as a malfunction that led to the lack of individual identification numbers in internal logs of voting machines, potentially affecting the election outcome [135197]. Experts mentioned in the article confirmed that the bug did not impact the reliability or credibility of the election results and that the voting machines could still be identified through other means [135197].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious The software failure incident reported in the article is non-malicious. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections, which he claimed affected the authenticity of the results [135197]. However, independent experts stated that the bug did not affect the reliability of the election results and that the voting machines could still be identified through other means [135197]. The bug was detected due to efforts by the electoral authority to provide greater transparency, indicating that it was not introduced with malicious intent [135197].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions The intent of the software failure incident reported in the articles is related to poor_decisions. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug for his election loss and demanded the annulment of votes cast on electronic voting machines, claiming the bug affected the authenticity of the results [135197]. This action was based on the decision to challenge the election results due to the perceived bug in the software, indicating a poor decision made by the president and his party in attempting to overturn the outcome of the election.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident in the news article seems to be related to development incompetence. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug for the election results and demanded the electoral authority to annul votes cast on electronic voting machines [135197]. The complaint characterized the bug as "irreparable non-compliance due to malfunction" that called into question the authenticity of the results. However, independent experts mentioned that the bug doesn't affect the reliability of the results [135197]. This situation highlights a failure due to contributing factors introduced due to a lack of professional competence in the development or implementation of the software system.
Duration temporary The software failure incident reported in the articles is temporary. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections, which he claimed affected the authenticity of the results [135197]. However, independent experts stated that the bug did not affect the reliability of the election results and that the voting machines could still be identified through other means [135197]. The incident was specific to the circumstances surrounding the election and the claims made by Bolsonaro and his supporters, rather than being a permanent and ongoing issue with the software system.
Behaviour other (a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article does not align with a crash behavior where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. (b) omission: The incident does not involve the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). (c) timing: The software failure incident does not relate to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. (d) value: The failure is not attributed to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The behavior of the software failure incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. (f) other: The software failure incident in the article is related to a claim of a software bug affecting the authenticity of election results, leading to demands for the annulment of votes cast on certain electronic voting machines. The incident involves questioning the reliability of the results due to a bug described as "irreparable non-compliance due to malfunction" [135197].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence no_consequence, theoretical_consequence The consequence of the software failure incident discussed in the articles is primarily a theoretical consequence rather than a real observed consequence. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's elections, claiming it called into question the authenticity of the results. However, independent experts stated that the bug did not affect the reliability of the election results [135197]. The potential consequences discussed include questioning the authenticity of the election results, demanding the annulment of votes cast on certain machines, and raising doubts about the electoral process. There were no real observed consequences such as death, harm, basic needs impact, property loss, or delays due to the software failure incident.
Domain government The software failure incident reported in the news article [135197] is related to the government industry. President Jair Bolsonaro blamed a software bug in the electronic voting machines used in Brazil's national elections, which led to demands for the annulment of votes cast on a significant number of machines. The incident involved the electoral authority, political parties, and experts analyzing the impact of the bug on the election results, highlighting the government's role in overseeing the electoral process and addressing potential issues within the system.

Sources

Back to List