| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Tor network and the de-anonymization research by Carnegie Mellon researchers can be considered as a potential case of a software failure happening within the same organization (Carnegie Mellon University). The incident involved the cancellation of a presentation at the Black Hat conference due to legal concerns raised by the university's counsel regarding the public disclosure of the material [28500].
(b) The incident also highlights potential risks and vulnerabilities in the Tor network used by numerous criminal websites, indicating a broader issue affecting multiple organizations and users relying on the network for anonymity and security [28500]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The presentation detailing flaws in the Tor network by Carnegie Mellon researchers Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord was cancelled because the university's lawyers intervened, stating that neither the university nor its Software Engineering Institute had approved the public disclosure of the material [28500]. This indicates that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced during the system development phase.
(b) The software failure incident in the article does not directly point to a failure in the operation phase. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident discussed in the articles is within_system. The failure was related to flaws in the Tor network that could potentially allow de-anonymization of users. The presentation at the Black Hat conference was canceled because the Carnegie Mellon researchers were going to detail these flaws in the Tor network, which could compromise the anonymity of users [28500]. The incident was about vulnerabilities within the system itself that could be exploited by external parties. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case seems to be related to non-human actions. The cancellation of the presentation at the Black Hat conference detailing flaws in the Tor network was due to the intervention of lawyers from Carnegie Mellon University, specifically the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), who did not give approval for the public disclosure of the material set to be presented by the researchers Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord [28500].
(b) On the other hand, human actions also played a role in this incident. The researchers, Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord, were planning to deliver a talk at the conference revealing flaws in the Tor network that could potentially de-anonymize users. Their actions in preparing and planning to disclose this information led to the cancellation of the presentation [28500]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in this case does not seem to be related to hardware issues. The cancellation of the presentation detailing flaws in the Tor network was due to legal reasons and lack of approval from Carnegie Mellon University and its Software Engineering Institute (SEI) [28500].
(b) The software failure incident in this case is related to software issues. The presentation by Carnegie Mellon researchers Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord was canceled because the university had not given approval for the public disclosure of the material related to de-anonymizing Tor users. This indicates a failure in the software aspect of the Tor network that could potentially allow de-anonymization of users [28500]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the articles is malicious in nature. The Carnegie Mellon researchers were set to deliver a presentation at the Black Hat conference detailing flaws in the Tor network that could allow for the de-anonymization of users. The presentation was canceled due to legal intervention from the university, indicating that the information to be disclosed was not approved for public release. The researchers claimed that with $3,000, a determined hacker could de-anonymize hundreds of thousands of Tor clients and thousands of hidden services within a couple of months, highlighting the potential harm that could be caused by exploiting these vulnerabilities [28500]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident does not seem to be related to poor decisions. The cancellation of the presentation detailing flaws in the Tor network was due to legal reasons and lack of approval from Carnegie Mellon University and its Software Engineering Institute (SEI) [28500].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident appears to be more related to accidental decisions. The researchers, Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord, had their talk on de-anonymising Tor users cancelled at the Black Hat conference due to legal issues and lack of approval, indicating an unintended consequence of their actions [28500]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in this case can be attributed to development incompetence. The presentation at the Black Hat conference detailing flaws in the Tor network was cancelled because the Carnegie Mellon researchers, Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord, did not have approval from the university or its Software Engineering Institute (SEI) for public disclosure of the material. This lack of proper authorization and oversight can be seen as a failure due to contributing factors introduced due to a lack of professional competence by the researchers and possibly the university [28500].
(b) Additionally, the cancellation of the talk at the Black Hat conference can also be considered a failure due to accidental factors. The researchers' failure to obtain the necessary approval for public disclosure may have been an unintentional oversight on their part, leading to the accidental cancellation of the highly anticipated presentation [28500]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident discussed in the articles can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident involved the cancellation of a presentation at the Black Hat conference by Carnegie Mellon researchers Alexander Volynkin and Michael McCord, where they were supposed to detail flaws in the Tor network that could allow for the de-anonymization of users [28500]. The cancellation was due to the university's lawyers stepping in and preventing the public disclosure of the material, indicating that the failure was temporary and specific to this particular circumstance. |
| Behaviour |
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. The incident is related to the potential de-anonymization of users on the Tor network due to flaws identified by researchers [28500].
(b) omission: The software failure incident does not involve omission where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, it revolves around the potential de-anonymization of Tor users due to identified flaws [28500].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The incident is focused on the security vulnerabilities in the Tor network that could allow for de-anonymization [28500].
(d) value: The software failure incident is not about the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. It is about the potential exploitation of flaws in the Tor network to de-anonymize users [28500].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit byzantine behavior where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The incident is centered around the security implications of potential de-anonymization on the Tor network [28500].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a security vulnerability or privacy breach. Researchers identified flaws in the Tor network that could allow for the de-anonymization of users, potentially compromising their privacy and security [28500]. |