| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization:
The article mentions that Quirky's Wink smart-home line has faced quality-control issues in the past, with products being described as buggy and unreliable. This indicates that similar incidents have occurred before within the same organization. The article highlights that the recent outage was caused by a failure to update an expiring element of the security software, leading to the need for users to send in their Wink Hub smart-home control centers for an update. This incident reflects a recurring issue within Quirky's product line [35295].
(b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization:
There is no specific mention in the article about similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. Therefore, it is unknown if this software failure incident has occurred at multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to a failure in the design phase. Quirky failed to update an expiring element of its security software, which led to the outage and the need for users to send in their Wink Hub smart-home control centers for an update. This failure was preventable and caused by a security measure that was not updated in time, resulting in the Hub's access to the server being locked down [35295].
(b) Additionally, there were operational issues highlighted in the article. The company mentioned that approximately 25% of Wink users were impacted by the outage, and they were able to recover and reconnect 40% of those users within 10 hours. This indicates that there were operational challenges or issues in managing the outage and reconnecting affected users [35295]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
From the provided article [35295], the software failure incident related to the Wink Hub smart-home control centers was primarily within the system. The failure was caused by the company's failure to update an expiring element of its security software, which led to the Hub's access to the server being locked down. This internal oversight resulted in the need for users to send in their devices for an update and caused an outage affecting a significant percentage of Wink users. The company took responsibility for the preventable failure and offered solutions to rectify the situation, such as providing a self-service fix and offering free repairs and replacements for affected users. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurred due to non-human actions, specifically failing to update an expiring element of the security software, which led to the Wink Hub smart-home control centers being locked down from accessing the server [35295].
(b) The software failure incident was also influenced by human actions as the failure to make an update to the expiring security measure was attributed to human error within the company, causing the inconvenience to users and the need for them to send in their Wink Hub units for repair [35295]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 35295 occurred due to contributing factors originating in hardware. Quirky asked Wink Hub owners to send in their smart-home control centers for a repair after failing to update an expiring element of its security software. This failure led to the Hub's access to the server being locked down, requiring users to return the devices for an update [35295]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is non-malicious. The failure occurred due to a failure to update an expiring element of the security software, which led to the Wink Hub smart-home control centers being locked down and inaccessible to the server. Quirky, the company behind Wink, acknowledged that the outage was completely preventable and caused by a security measure that was not updated in time, resulting in inconvenience to users [35295]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Wink Hub smart-home control centers was primarily due to poor decisions made by Quirky. The failure occurred because Quirky failed to update an expiring element of its security software, which led to an outage impacting approximately 25% of Wink users. This outage was preventable, and Quirky admitted that it was caused by a security measure that was not updated in time, resulting in the Hub's access to the server being locked down [35295]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to development incompetence. Quirky failed to update an expiring element of its security software, which led to the outage affecting Wink Hub users. The company admitted that the outage was completely preventable and caused by a security measure that was not updated in time, resulting in the Hub's access to the server being locked down [35295].
(b) Additionally, the incident can also be attributed to accidental factors as the failure was described as caused by a security measure that was put in place to protect users but was not updated in time, leading to the unintended consequence of locking down access to the server [35295]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
From the provided article [35295], the software failure incident related to the Wink Hub smart-home control centers was temporary. The incident was caused by a failure to update an expiring element of the security software, which led to the Hub's access to the server being locked down. Quirky took immediate action to address the issue by asking users to send in their Wink Hubs for an update. They also provided a self-service fix for users comfortable making quick changes to their home's router settings. The company mentioned that they were able to recover and reconnect 40% of affected users within 10 hours and expected the outage to be limited to 10% of users by the end of the day. Additionally, Quirky mentioned that they were suspending sales of new Wink Hubs until the issue was resolved, indicating a temporary nature of the software failure incident. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash. The Wink Hub smart-home control centers experienced a failure where they lost access to the server due to an expiring security measure that was not updated, resulting in the system not performing its intended functions [35295].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be categorized as an omission. The failure occurred because the system omitted to update a security measure that was expiring, leading to the Hub's access being locked down [35295].
(c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident is not explicitly mentioned in the article. Therefore, it is unknown if the failure was due to the system performing its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be categorized as a value failure. The system performed its intended functions incorrectly by failing to update the expiring security measure, causing the outage and inconvenience to users [35295].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited in this software failure incident is a quality-control issue. The article mentions that there have been various quality-control issues in Quirky's Wink smart-home line, with products being described as buggy and unreliable, indicating a broader issue beyond just the specific security update failure [35295]. |