| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
- Apple experienced disruptions or partial outages with a number of its services on Wednesday afternoon, including iCloud services like iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders [110834].
- This incident was the second mishap Apple faced in the last week, as in January, the tech giant released an update to its operating system, iOS 14.4, to fix security vulnerabilities that may have been actively exploited by hackers [110834].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
- There is no specific mention in the provided article about similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where Apple experienced disruptions or partial outages with a number of its services, including iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders [110834]. These outages were indicated by a red triangle on Apple's System Status dashboard, signifying an outage that likely resulted from contributing factors introduced during system development or updates.
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where users were experiencing a 'slow or unavailable' service with Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes, but the error was fixed within two hours [110834]. This type of failure, caused by the operation or misuse of the system, was resolved relatively quickly once identified. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the articles was primarily within the system. The outage affected several Apple services such as iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders [110834]. These services are integral parts of Apple's ecosystem and are used by users for daily tasks. Additionally, issues were identified in services like Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes, which are key features of Apple's offerings [110834].
(b) outside_system: There is no specific information in the articles 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 occurring due to non-human actions:
- The article reports that Apple experienced disruptions or partial outages with a number of its services, including iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders, which showed a red triangle signifying an outage [110834].
- The outage affected services like Apple Photos and Find My Friend as well [110834].
- The issues with services like iCloud Notes and iCloud Calendar, which are key tools for daily tasks, were also highlighted [110834].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The article mentions that Apple released an update to its operating system, iOS 14.4, to fix security vulnerabilities that may have been actively exploited by hackers [110834].
- The update addressed bugs identified in Webkit and the core operating system Kernel, with the Kernel flaw described as a 'race condition' that could allow malicious applications to elevate privileges [110834].
- Apple stated that vulnerabilities in WebKit were rectified with improved restrictions, and without the update, hackers could remotely access devices to cause arbitrary code execution [110834]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The article mentions that Apple experienced disruptions or partial outages with a number of its services, including iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders, which are all cloud-based services that rely on hardware infrastructure to function [110834].
- The outage affected services like Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes, which are software applications that depend on hardware infrastructure to deliver content and services to users [110834].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The article highlights that Apple faced issues with its services like iCloud Notes, iCloud Calendar, the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Music, and Apple Radio, which are software applications that experienced outages or disruptions [110834].
- Additionally, the article mentions that Apple released an update to its operating system, iOS 14.4, to fix security vulnerabilities in Webkit (the browser engine that powers Safari) and the core operating system, Kernel, indicating software-related issues [110834]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles is non-malicious. The incident was primarily caused by outages and disruptions in various Apple services such as iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders [110834]. These outages affected users' ability to access and use these services, leading to inconvenience and disruption. Additionally, the incident involved issues with Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes, which were fixed within a few hours [110834]. The article does not mention any malicious intent behind these failures, indicating that they were not caused by human(s) with the intent to harm the system. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- The software failure incident involving Apple's services being partially down was not explicitly attributed to poor decisions but rather to technical issues and outages [110834].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
- The software failure incident involving Apple's services being partially down was not explicitly attributed to accidental decisions but rather to technical issues and outages [110834]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as Apple faced disruptions or partial outages with a number of its services, including iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders [110834]. These outages affected key tools for workers who rely on these services for daily tasks, indicating a failure due to contributing factors introduced by the development organization.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is seen in the article when users experienced a 'slow or unavailable' service with Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes earlier in the day, but the error was fixed within two hours [110834]. This indicates that the failure was accidental and not intentional. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident described in the articles was temporary. The outage affecting several Apple services, such as iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders, began around 1:30pm ET and was resolved within a few hours [110834]. Additionally, issues with services like Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes were fixed within two hours [110834]. The outage started at 8:26AM ET, and services were back up by 10:43AM ET [110834]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, timing, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident reported in the articles can be categorized as a crash. The incident involved outages in several Apple services such as iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders, as well as Apple Photos and Find My Friend. These services were affected by a partial outage, leading to users being unable to access or use them as intended [110834].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be categorized as an omission. Users were unable to backup their devices due to the outage in iCloud Backup, which is a critical function for ensuring data safety and continuity [110834].
(c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident can be considered as a timing issue. The outages in various Apple services occurred during specific timeframes, impacting users' ability to access services like Apple Music, the App Store, iMessage, and iTunes. The errors were fixed within a few hours, indicating that the system was performing its intended functions but at the wrong time, causing inconvenience to users [110834].
(d) value: The software failure incident can be linked to a value issue as well. The incident involved services like the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Music, and Apple Radio experiencing outages, which could be considered as the system performing its intended functions incorrectly or delivering subpar value to users [110834].
(e) byzantine: There is no clear indication in the articles that the software failure incident falls under the byzantine behavior category.
(f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident is the system showing a red triangle for services like iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iCloud Notes, and iCloud Storage Upgraders, as well as Apple Photos and Find My Friend. This behavior signifies an outage or error in these services, impacting users' ability to utilize them effectively [110834]. |