| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the breach and hacking of U.S. government computers by Anonymous hackers has happened again at Adobe Systems Inc. The hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe's software to launch the electronic break-ins [Article 23424, Article 23080].
(b) The software failure incident related to the breach and hacking of U.S. government computers by Anonymous hackers has also happened at multiple organizations, including the U.S. Army, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services. These agencies were affected by the breach and stolen sensitive information [Article 23424, Article 23080]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be attributed to the design phase. The incident was caused by a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, specifically in Adobe's ColdFusion software used to build websites. The hackers exploited this design flaw to launch electronic break-ins into multiple U.S. government agencies, leading to the theft of sensitive information [23424, 23080].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident can also be linked to the operation phase. The FBI memo mentioned that the hackers left "back doors" in the compromised machines to allow them to return even after the initial breach. This indicates that the operation or misuse of the system, such as leaving vulnerabilities open for exploitation, played a role in the continuation of the cyber campaign [23424, 23080]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the articles was primarily due to contributing factors that originated from within the system. The hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, particularly Adobe's ColdFusion software, to launch a series of electronic break-ins that affected multiple U.S. government agencies [23424, 23080]. This internal vulnerability within the Adobe software allowed the hackers to gain unauthorized access to government computers and steal sensitive information.
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident also had contributing factors that originated from outside the system. The hackers, linked to the collective known as Anonymous, conducted the cyber campaign by exploiting the internal flaw in Adobe's software. Additionally, the incident was part of a larger campaign by Anonymous, indicating external factors such as the actions and motivations of the hacker group [23424, 23080]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
The software failure incident in the articles was primarily due to a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, specifically Adobe's ColdFusion software, which was exploited by hackers to launch electronic break-ins into multiple U.S. government agencies [23424, 23080]. This flaw allowed the hackers to access sensitive information and leave back doors in the systems for future access. Additionally, the majority of attacks involving Adobe's software were found to exploit programs that were not updated with the latest security patches, indicating a vulnerability in the software itself [23424].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
The incident also involved human actions, as hackers, including Lauri Love, took advantage of the security flaw in Adobe's ColdFusion software to initiate the cyber attacks on various government agencies [23424, 23080]. The attacks were part of a campaign by activist hackers linked to the collective known as Anonymous, indicating deliberate actions by individuals to exploit the software vulnerability for unauthorized access and data theft. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The software failure incident reported in the articles is not attributed to hardware issues but rather to a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software that was exploited by hackers [23424, 23080].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The software failure incident in the articles is directly linked to a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, specifically Adobe's ColdFusion software, which was exploited by hackers to launch electronic break-ins into U.S. government computers [23424, 23080]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the articles is malicious in nature. Activist hackers linked to the collective known as Anonymous exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software to launch a campaign of electronic break-ins into U.S. government computers in multiple agencies. The hackers stole sensitive information, including personal data on employees, contractors, and family members, as well as banking information. The attacks were part of a cyber campaign that began almost a year ago and were aimed at accessing and compromising various government systems [23424, 23080]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident:
- The software failure incident involving the activist hackers linked to Anonymous accessing U.S. government computers and stealing sensitive information was primarily driven by poor decisions made by the hackers. They exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software to launch electronic break-ins and left back doors to return to the machines, affecting multiple government agencies [23424, 23080].
- The hackers took advantage of a security flaw in Adobe's ColdFusion software, which is used to build websites, indicating a deliberate choice to exploit vulnerabilities in the software [23424, 23080].
- The incident was part of a campaign that began almost a year ago, showing a sustained effort by the hackers to target government systems [23424, 23080].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident:
- The software failure incident can also be attributed to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. For example, the FBI report mentioned that the majority of attacks involving Adobe's software exploited programs that were not updated with the latest security patches, indicating a lack of proper maintenance and oversight [23424, 23080].
- The breach affected various government agencies, including the U.S. Army, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services, suggesting a wide-reaching impact that may have been unintentional in its scale [23424, 23080].
- The incident led to the theft of personal information on thousands of individuals associated with the Department of Energy, highlighting the unintended consequences of the hackers' actions [23424, 23080]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the articles as hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software to launch a series of electronic break-ins that began in December. The hackers left "back doors" to return to many machines, indicating a vulnerability that was not adequately addressed by the software developers [23424, 23080].
(b) The software failure incident also involved accidental factors as investigators believe the attacks began when hackers took advantage of a security flaw in Adobe’s ColdFusion software, which is used to build websites. This suggests that the flaw may have been unintentionally introduced during the development or maintenance of the software [23424, 23080]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident described in the articles is temporary. The incident involved activist hackers linked to Anonymous exploiting a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software to launch electronic break-ins that began in December and continued until at least last month. The hackers left "back doors" to return to many machines, indicating that the breach was ongoing and not a permanent failure [23424, 23080]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the articles does not specifically mention a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions.
(b) omission: The incident does not directly indicate a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s).
(c) timing: The incident does not suggest a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident is related to a failure where the system performed its intended functions incorrectly. This is evident from the exploitation of a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software by hackers to launch electronic break-ins and steal sensitive information from U.S. government computers [23424, 23080].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not align with a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be categorized as a security breach resulting from the exploitation of a software flaw to gain unauthorized access and steal sensitive data from government agencies. |