| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to redaction flaws in PDF documents has happened again at the US court system, the US Office of the Inspector General, and Freedom of Information Act requests [134827]. The incident involved thousands of documents that exposed people's names and other sensitive details due to ineffective redaction methods.
(b) The software failure incident involving redaction flaws in PDF documents has also occurred at other organizations besides the US court system and the US Office of the Inspector General. The research highlighted failures in popular redaction tools like PDFzorro and PDFescape Online, indicating a broader issue across various organizations that rely on these tools for redacting sensitive information [134827]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the case of redaction tools for PDF documents. The research conducted by a team at the University of Illinois highlighted significant flaws in popular redaction tools like PDFzorro and PDFescape Online. These tools offered no protection to the underlying text at all, allowing easy access to redacted text by copying and pasting it. The flaws in these tools were identified during the research, leading to the registration of CVE numbers for the vulnerabilities [134827].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase can be observed in the real-world impact of redaction failures on organizations like the US Department of Justice, the US courts system, the Office of Inspector General, and Adobe. Despite the vulnerabilities identified in popular redaction tools and the potential risks associated with improper redaction, many organizations impacted by redaction failures did not respond to requests for comment. This lack of response indicates a gap in addressing operational issues related to redaction failures and securing sensitive information [134827]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident discussed in the article is primarily within the system. The failure occurred due to flaws in popular redaction tools for PDF documents, such as PDFzorro and PDFescape Online, which allowed full access to text that had allegedly been redacted [134827]. The incident involved vulnerabilities within the software itself, leading to the exposure of sensitive information despite redaction attempts. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is related to non-human_actions, specifically flaws in redaction tools that allowed for the extraction of supposedly redacted text without human intervention. The research found that popular tools like PDFzorro and PDFescape Online offered no protection to the underlying text, allowing for easy access to redacted information through copy and paste [134827].
(b) The software failure incident can also be attributed to human_actions, as the redaction failures were a result of incorrect redaction practices by individuals and organizations. The article mentions instances where redactions were done incorrectly, exposing sensitive information and potentially compromising people's safety and national security [134827]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not mention any software failure incident occurring due to contributing factors originating in hardware. Hence, there is no information available regarding a software failure incident related to hardware [134827].
(b) The software failure incident discussed in the articles is related to software flaws in popular tools for redacting PDF documents. The research conducted by the team at the University of Illinois identified that two popular tools, PDFzorro and PDFescape Online, offered no protection to the underlying text in redacted documents, allowing easy access to the redacted text by copying and pasting it. Additionally, the research team developed a tool called Edact-Ray that could reveal names that had been redacted by analyzing the size of glyphs and their positioning in the document. This incident highlights a software failure due to flaws in the redaction software [134827]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident discussed in the article is related to a malicious objective. The failure occurred due to flaws in popular redaction tools for PDF documents, which allowed for the extraction of supposedly redacted text, potentially exposing sensitive information and compromising people's safety and national security [134827]. The incident involved a new attack method that could reveal names that had been redacted, demonstrating a deliberate attempt to bypass redaction measures and extract hidden information [134827]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident:
The software failure incident discussed in the article was primarily due to poor decisions made in the design and implementation of redaction tools for PDF documents. The research conducted by the team at the University of Illinois revealed that popular tools like PDFzorro and PDFescape Online offered no protection to the underlying text in redacted documents, allowing easy access to the supposedly hidden information by simply copying and pasting it [134827].
The failure to properly redact sensitive information in documents, which could have serious implications for individuals' safety and national security, was a result of inadequate security measures and flawed design choices in the redaction tools. This highlights a case of software failure stemming from poor decisions made during the development and deployment of the tools. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the case of redaction tools like PDFzorro and PDFescape Online. Researchers found that these popular tools for redacting PDF documents offered no protection to the underlying text at all, allowing the text to be accessed by copying and pasting it [134827].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is demonstrated by the unintentional exposure of sensitive information in redacted documents due to flaws in the redaction process. The failure to properly secure sensitive information in digital documents, leading to leaks of redacted information, can be attributed to accidental technical failings [134827]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident discussed in the articles is more aligned with a temporary failure rather than a permanent one. The incident involves vulnerabilities in popular redaction tools for PDF documents, such as PDFzorro and PDFescape Online, that allow full access to redacted text if not used correctly. The incident highlights specific circumstances, such as improper redaction techniques and flaws in the software, contributing to the failure rather than a failure introduced by all circumstances [134827]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to a crash.
(b) omission: The software failure incident described in the articles is related to omission. Specifically, the failure occurred due to the system omitting to properly redact sensitive information in PDF documents, leading to exposed names and other details [134827].
(c) timing: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to timing issues.
(d) value: The software failure incident described in the articles is related to value. The failure occurred due to the system incorrectly redacting sensitive information in PDF documents, allowing access to the underlying text by copying and pasting it [134827].
(e) byzantine: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to a byzantine behavior.
(f) other: The software failure incident described in the articles can be categorized as an omission and a value failure. The system failed to properly redact sensitive information in PDF documents, leading to exposure of names and other details due to incorrect redaction methods [134827]. |