| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Twitter's security flaw in the "contacts upload" feature where user phone numbers were exposed due to a flaw in the Android app has happened within the same organization (Twitter) [96761].
(b) There is no specific information in the provided article about a similar incident 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 attributed to a flaw in Twitter's "contacts upload" feature. A security researcher discovered a vulnerability in this feature that allowed for the matching of 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts. This flaw in the design of the feature led to unauthorized access to user phone numbers, potentially by state-sponsored actors [96761].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase can be seen in the misuse of the "contacts upload" feature by attackers in Iran who had unrestricted access to Twitter, despite the platform being banned in that country. This misuse of the feature by state-backed actors highlights an operational failure in preventing unauthorized access and misuse of the system [96761]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily attributed to a flaw in Twitter's "contacts upload" feature, which allowed a security researcher to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts [96761]. This flaw within Twitter's system led to the exposure of user phone numbers and potential unauthorized access to accounts.
(b) outside_system: The article mentions that Twitter identified a "high volume of requests" to use the feature coming from IP addresses in Iran, Israel, and Malaysia, with some of these IP addresses potentially having ties to state-sponsored actors [96761]. This indicates that external factors, such as possible state actors attempting to access user information, played a role in the software failure incident. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to non-human actions. The incident was caused by a flaw in Twitter's "contacts upload" feature, which allowed a security researcher to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts [96761]. This flaw in the software feature enabled unauthorized access to user phone numbers, leading to a potential data leak. The high volume of requests to use the feature came from IP addresses in Iran, Israel, and Malaysia, some of which were suspected to have ties to state-sponsored actors. The flaw in the software feature itself was the main contributing factor to the incident.
(b) Human actions also played a role in this software failure incident. The security researcher, Ibrahim Balic, exploited the flaw in Twitter's Android app to match phone numbers to user accounts, demonstrating how human actions can exploit vulnerabilities in software systems [96761]. Additionally, Twitter's decision to have the "contacts upload" feature switched on by default for users globally, except in the European Union, where privacy rules are stricter, was a human decision that contributed to the exposure of user phone numbers. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily related to a flaw in Twitter's "contacts upload" feature, which allowed a security researcher to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts. This flaw in the software feature led to the exposure of user phone numbers to possible state actors [96761].
(b) The software failure incident is attributed to a flaw in Twitter's feature that allowed the security researcher to exploit and match phone numbers to user accounts. This indicates that the failure originated in the software itself, specifically in the "contacts upload" feature of Twitter's Android app [96761]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 96761 was malicious in nature. The incident involved attempts by possible state actors to access user phone numbers through a flaw in Twitter's "contacts upload" feature. The attackers, suspected to have ties to state-sponsored actors, were able to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts, indicating a deliberate attempt to exploit the vulnerability for unauthorized access. Additionally, the attackers in Iran had unrestricted access to Twitter, despite the platform being banned in that country, further suggesting a malicious intent behind the actions [96761].
(b) The incident was non-malicious in the sense that the flaw in the contacts feature of Twitter's Android app was not intentionally created to harm the system. It was initially discovered by a security researcher, Ibrahim Balic, who identified the vulnerability and its impact on user privacy. The feature itself, which allowed people with a user's phone number to find and connect with them on Twitter, was designed as a convenience feature but inadvertently exposed user phone numbers due to the flaw [96761]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Twitter security breach appears to involve poor decisions made in the design and implementation of the "contacts upload" feature. The incident was caused by a flaw in this feature that allowed a security researcher to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts. This flaw led to a high volume of requests coming from IP addresses in Iran, Israel, and Malaysia, some of which were suspected to have ties to state-sponsored actors. Additionally, the feature was switched on by default for all users globally, except for those in the European Union where stringent privacy rules are in place [96761]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence can be inferred from the article. A security researcher, Ibrahim Balic, was able to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts by exploiting a flaw in the contacts feature of its Android app [96761]. This indicates a lack of professional competence in the development of the feature, allowing for such a significant data breach to occur.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is also evident in the article. Twitter mentioned that it had identified a "high volume of requests" to use the feature coming from IP addresses in Iran, Israel, and Malaysia, with some of these IP addresses potentially having ties to state-sponsored actors [96761]. This suggests that the exposure of user phone numbers was not intentional but rather a result of unauthorized access attempts by external actors. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in Article 96761 can be categorized as a temporary failure. This is evident from the fact that Twitter identified a flaw in its "contacts upload" feature that allowed a security researcher to match 17 million phone numbers to specific Twitter user accounts. As a response to this incident, Twitter changed the feature to no longer reveal specific account names in response to requests and suspended accounts believed to have been abusing the tool. These actions indicate that the failure was due to specific circumstances related to the flaw in the feature and not a permanent issue affecting the software [96761]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [96761].
(b) omission: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) [96761].
(c) timing: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early [96761].
(d) value: The software failure incident in the article involves a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly, as user phone numbers associated with accounts were exposed due to a flaw in the "contacts upload" feature [96761].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [96761].
(f) other: The software failure incident in the article involves a security flaw in the "contacts upload" feature of Twitter, leading to the exposure of user phone numbers to possible state actors [96761]. |