Incident: Sega Corp Data Breach: 1.3 Million Customer Records Compromised

Published Date: 2011-06-18

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident at Sega Corp, where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database, happened in June 2011 as per the article published on June 18, 2011 [6232].
System 1. Sega Pass online network [6232]
Responsible Organization 1. Lulz Security [6232]
Impacted Organization 1. Sega Corp - 1.3 million customers' information was stolen from its database, impacting the Sega Pass online network members [6232].
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident at Sega Corp was a cyber attack that resulted in the theft of information belonging to 1.3 million customers from its database, compromising names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of the Sega Pass online network [6232].
Non-software Causes 1. Cyber attack: The incident was a result of a global cyber attack against video game companies, with Sega being one of the victims [6232]. 2. Data breach: Information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from Sega's database, indicating a breach in their security measures [6232].
Impacts 1. Personal information of 1.3 million customers, including names, birth dates, email addresses, and encrypted passwords, was stolen from Sega's database, leading to a breach of user data security [6232]. 2. The Sega Pass online network had to be shut down as a result of the attack, impacting the services provided to its users [6232]. 3. The incident caused inconvenience and trouble to Sega's customers, prompting the company to issue an apology for the security breach [6232]. 4. The attack on Sega was part of a series of global cyber attacks against video game companies, indicating a broader trend of security threats in the industry [6232].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as encryption and multi-factor authentication could have prevented the unauthorized access to the Sega Pass database [6232]. 2. Regular security audits and penetration testing could have helped identify vulnerabilities in the system before they were exploited by hackers [6232]. 3. Timely software updates and patches to address known security vulnerabilities could have reduced the risk of a successful cyber attack [6232].
Fixes 1. Enhancing security measures such as encryption and access controls to prevent unauthorized access to the database [6232]. 2. Implementing regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities proactively [6232]. 3. Educating employees and users on best practices for creating and storing secure passwords to prevent easy decryption by hackers [6232]. 4. Promptly notifying customers and stakeholders about data breaches to maintain transparency and trust [6232]. 5. Collaborating with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and track down the hackers responsible [6232].
References 1. Sega Corp statement 2. Yoko Nagasawa, Sega spokeswoman 3. Sega Europe 4. Lulz Security group of hackers 5. Reuters news agency [6232]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - Sega Corp experienced a software failure incident where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database [6232]. - This incident is similar to the high-profile attacks Sony Corp experienced in April, where account data for more than 100 million customers was stolen [6232]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - The article mentions that the attack against Sega is part of a rash of global cyber attacks against video game companies, indicating that other organizations in the video game industry have also been targeted [6232]. - Lulz Security, a group of hackers, has launched cyber attacks against other video game companies including Nintendo, showing that multiple organizations in the industry have been affected by similar incidents [6232].
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where it mentions that information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from Sega's database. This indicates a failure in the design of the system's security measures, allowing hackers to compromise user data [6232]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where it states that Sega Pass online network had been compromised, leading to the theft of user information such as names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords. This breach occurred due to the operation of the system, highlighting a failure in ensuring the security and protection of user data during system operation [6232].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system, outside_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident involving Sega Pass was due to a breach where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database. The compromised data included names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users. This breach originated from within the system, indicating a failure in the security measures implemented by Sega Pass [6232]. (b) outside_system: The article mentions that the attack against Sega was part of a global trend of cyber attacks targeting video game companies. This indicates that the external factor of a broader trend of cyber attacks against the industry contributed to the software failure incident [6232].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident related to non-human actions: - The software failure incident at Sega Corp was due to a cyber attack where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database [6232]. - Names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of Sega Pass online network members were compromised in the breach [6232]. - The attack against Sega was part of a rash of global cyber attacks against video game companies [6232]. (b) The software failure incident related to human actions: - Sega Corp expressed deep apologies for causing trouble to their customers and mentioned the need to work on strengthening security measures [6232]. - Sega Pass online network had to be shut down following the breach [6232]. - Lulz Security, a group of hackers, offered to track down and punish the hackers who broke into Sega's database, indicating human involvement in the cyber attack [6232].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: - The incident reported in the article does not indicate any hardware-related issues contributing to the software failure. It primarily focuses on the cyber attack that led to the theft of customer information from Sega's database [6232]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: - The software failure incident reported in the article is attributed to a cyber attack where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from Sega's database. This breach compromised names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of Sega Pass online network members. The incident led to the shutdown of Sega Pass, and Sega expressed the need to strengthen security measures [6232].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) malicious (a) The software failure incident involving Sega Corp's database breach was malicious in nature. The incident involved a cyber attack where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from the database. The breach resulted in the compromise of names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of the Sega Pass online network. The attack was carried out by hackers with the intent to steal sensitive customer information, indicating a malicious objective [6232].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown (a) The software failure incident involving Sega Corp's database breach was not due to poor decisions but rather a cyber attack by hackers. The incident was a result of a global cyber attack against video game companies, with hackers stealing information belonging to 1.3 million customers from Sega's database. The breach compromised names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of the Sega Pass online network. Sega Corp expressed deep apologies to its customers and emphasized the need to strengthen security measures [6232]. (b) The software failure incident was not a result of accidental decisions but rather a deliberate cyber attack by hackers targeting Sega's database. The attack led to the theft of sensitive information from 1.3 million customers, prompting Sega to shut down the Sega Pass online network and work on enhancing security measures. The incident was part of a series of global cyber attacks against video game companies, highlighting the intentional nature of the breach [6232].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence, unknown (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as Sega Corp reported that information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database. This breach occurred due to a cyber attack on Sega Pass online network members, indicating a failure in the security measures implemented by the development team [6232]. (b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article.
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in this case was temporary. Sega Pass online network, where the data breach occurred, was shut down in response to the incident. The article mentions that Sega Pass had been shut down, and it is unclear when the firm would restart it, indicating a temporary disruption [6232].
Behaviour other (a) crash: The software failure incident in this case does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. The incident is related to a data breach where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from Sega's database [6232]. (b) omission: The incident does not involve a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the breach resulted in the compromise of names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of Sega Pass online network members [6232]. (c) timing: The failure is not related to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The incident is primarily focused on the security breach and the theft of customer information from Sega's database [6232]. (d) value: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The compromised data included names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords, but payment data such as credit card numbers was reported to be safe [6232]. (e) byzantine: The incident does not describe the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions, which would fall under the category of a byzantine failure. The focus is on the data breach and the stolen customer information from Sega's database [6232]. (f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in this case is primarily related to a security breach resulting in the theft of customer information from Sega's database. The incident involves unauthorized access to sensitive data rather than a technical malfunction or software error [6232].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure Sega Corp reported that information belonging to 1.3 million customers, including names, birth dates, email addresses, and encrypted passwords, was stolen from its database. This breach of customer data from the Sega Pass online network had a direct impact on the property of the affected individuals as their personal information was compromised [6232].
Domain entertainment (a) The failed system was related to the entertainment industry. Sega Corp, a Japanese video game developer, experienced a cyber attack where information belonging to 1.3 million customers was stolen from its database. The incident involved the compromise of names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords of users of the Sega Pass online network, which is used for gaming purposes [6232].

Sources

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