| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Facebook's live chat messages and pending friend requests being briefly visible due to a bug in the "Preview My Profile" feature is an example of a software failure incident happening again within the same organization. This incident was a temporary security glitch that allowed users' private data to be exposed, prompting Facebook to temporarily disable the chat function and push out a fix to address the issue. It is mentioned that previewing profiles is a common activity on Facebook, and this particular vulnerability had not been encountered before, indicating that it was a unique incident within Facebook [1793].
(b) There is no information provided in the articles about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article was due to a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature, which allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their contacts. This bug was a result of a flaw in the system development or system updates, specifically in the implementation of the privacy settings feature. Facebook engineers promptly diagnosed the issue and disabled the chat function to address the problem [1793].
(b) The software failure incident can also be attributed to the operation of the system, as users were able to manipulate the "preview my profile" feature to view others' profiles, leading to the exposure of private data such as chat conversations and friend requests. This misuse of the system's feature by users contributed to the visibility of sensitive information to unintended recipients [1793]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident on Facebook, where live chat messages and pending friend requests were briefly visible to contacts, was caused by a bug in the "Preview My Profile" feature within Facebook's system. This bug allowed users to manipulate the feature and view inside another user's profile, leading to the exposure of private data [1793]. The incident was acknowledged by Facebook, and they promptly disabled the chat function and pushed out a fix to address the issue originating from within their system. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 1793 occurred due to a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature, which allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be briefly visible to their contacts. This bug was a non-human action, as it was a technical issue within the software itself that caused the unintended visibility of private data [1793].
(b) Human actions were involved in the resolution of the software failure incident. Facebook's engineers diagnosed the problem and temporarily disabled the chat function to address the issue. They also pushed out a fix to rectify the visible friend requests. Additionally, the company assured users that they worked quickly to resolve the matter once the bug was reported, indicating human intervention in addressing the software failure [1793]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 1793 was not attributed to hardware issues. The incident was specifically mentioned to be a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature, which allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their friends by manipulating the privacy settings feature. This bug originated in the software itself and was not related to any hardware failures.
(b) The software failure incident in Article 1793 was clearly due to contributing factors originating in the software. The bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature led to the exposure of users' chat messages and pending friend requests, indicating a software flaw rather than a hardware issue. The incident was described as a temporary security glitch caused by the software bug, which Facebook engineers promptly diagnosed and fixed by disabling the chat function and pushing out a solution. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in Article 1793 was non-malicious. It was a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature that inadvertently allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their friends. Facebook confirmed the bug and took immediate action to address it by temporarily disabling the chat function and pushing out a fix. The incident was characterized as a temporary security glitch rather than a large-scale security problem or a malicious attack [1793]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Facebook bug in the "Preview My Profile" feature can be attributed to poor decisions made by Facebook in terms of privacy settings and software implementation. The incident allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their friends due to a bug in the feature. This flaw was a result of how the "Preview My Profile" feature was designed, which inadvertently exposed private data. Additionally, Facebook had been facing criticism for pushing more profile data public by default and sharing more with third-party partners, which could have contributed to the poor decision-making process regarding privacy settings [1793].
(b) The incident can also be seen as a failure due to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The bug that led to the exposure of private data was not intentional and was promptly addressed by Facebook's engineers once it was reported. The company acknowledged the issue and took steps to fix it, indicating that the exposure of chat messages and friend requests was not a deliberate action but rather an unintended consequence of the software flaw [1793]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as it mentions a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature that allowed some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their contacts. This bug was a result of a flaw in the privacy settings feature, indicating a lack of professional competence in the development or testing of the feature [1793].
(b) The software failure incident also appears to have an accidental element as Facebook confirmed that the bug temporarily exposed private data due to manipulating the 'preview my profile' feature. The incident was not intentional but rather a result of a glitch that occurred unexpectedly, leading to the accidental exposure of sensitive information [1793]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in Article 1793 was temporary. The incident was described as a bug that permitted some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be visible to their friends by manipulating the 'preview my profile' feature of Facebook privacy settings. Facebook promptly diagnosed the issue, temporarily disabled the chat function, and pushed out a fix to address the problem. The article mentions that the company worked quickly to resolve the matter once the bug was reported, indicating that it was a temporary issue that was promptly addressed [1793]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in Article 1793 can be categorized as a crash. The incident involved a bug in Facebook's "Preview My Profile" feature that led to users' live chat messages and pending friend requests being briefly visible to their contacts. As a result of this bug, Facebook temporarily disabled its live chat software, indicating a failure of the system to maintain its intended state and perform its functions correctly [1793].
(b) omission: The incident does not specifically mention a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s).
(c) timing: The incident does not indicate a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early.
(d) value: The incident can be associated with a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The bug in the "Preview My Profile" feature caused the system to display live Facebook Chat conversations and replace the original user's list of pending friend requests with the user whose "view" was being previewed, which is an incorrect behavior [1793].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not align with a failure due to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited by the system in this incident could be described as a privacy breach. The bug in the software led to the exposure of private data, including chat messages and friend requests, to unintended recipients, which can be considered a significant violation of user privacy [1793]. |