| Recurring |
multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident of falling victim to a phishing attack has happened before at other organizations. The article mentions that similar scams have occurred in the past, with one company sending a large payment after an email supposedly sent by its CEO and a total of $2bn being lost to similar scams in the past two-and-a-half years [40551]. This indicates that the incident is not unique to Snapchat and has occurred at other organizations as well. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The incident occurred due to a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records of employees. This incident was a result of a flaw in the system design that allowed the scammer to impersonate the company's CEO, Evan Spiegel, and request sensitive information from an employee. The phishing email exploited a vulnerability in the system design, leading to the unauthorized disclosure of payroll information [40551].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident can also be linked to the operation phase. The failure was exacerbated by the operation of the system, specifically the HR employee's response to the phishing email. The employee's action of providing the payroll information in response to the fraudulent email contributed to the success of the scam. This highlights the importance of operational procedures and employee training in preventing such incidents [40551]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident involving Snapchat's confidential financial records being handed over to a scammer was due to an internal factor within the system. Specifically, an HR employee fell victim to a phishing attack where they received an email supposedly from the company's CEO and unknowingly provided the payroll information requested [40551]. This internal vulnerability within the system allowed for the unauthorized access and transfer of sensitive information.
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident was also influenced by external factors. The phishing attack itself was initiated externally by a scammer who impersonated the chief executive of Snapchat to trick the HR employee into disclosing the confidential financial records [40551]. This external threat actor exploited human vulnerability within the system to gain access to sensitive data. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the article was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records to a scammer. This incident was a result of a phishing email that purported to come from the company's CEO, Evan Spiegel, leading the HR staffer to respond with the requested information. The incident was not caused by direct human error or intentional actions within the company but rather by external factors manipulating individuals through deceptive means [40551].
(b) While the software failure incident was initiated by non-human actions (phishing attack), human actions played a role in the incident as well. The HR employee inadvertently contributed to the failure by responding to the phishing email and providing the confidential payroll information about current and former employees. This highlights the importance of human awareness and vigilance in preventing such incidents, even when the initial trigger is a non-human action like a phishing attack [40551]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The incident reported in the article [40551] was not attributed to hardware failure but rather to a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records of employees.
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The software failure incident in article [40551] was primarily caused by a phishing attack, which is a social engineering technique and not a software issue. The incident involved the manipulation of human behavior rather than a software flaw. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was malicious. It was a result of a phishing attack where a scammer tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records of current and former employees at Snapchat. The phishing email purported to come from the company's CEO, Evan Spiegel, and the HR staffer responded with the requested information, leading to the data breach [40551]. The incident was a deliberate attempt to deceive and harm the system by obtaining sensitive information through fraudulent means. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
The software failure incident reported in Article 40551 was primarily due to accidental_decisions. The incident involved a phishing attack where an HR employee at Snapchat accidentally handed over confidential financial records in response to a phishing email that appeared to come from the company's CEO. This was not a result of poor decisions but rather a mistake made by the employee in response to a deceptive email [40551]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 40551 can be attributed to development incompetence. The incident occurred due to a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records of current and former employees at Snapchat. This indicates a lack of professional competence in handling sensitive information and recognizing phishing attempts within the organization.
(b) Additionally, the incident can also be categorized as accidental, as the HR staffer responded to an email supposedly from the chief executive Evan Spiegel without recognizing it as a phishing attempt. This accidental action led to the unauthorized disclosure of payroll information, highlighting the accidental nature of the failure incident. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is not permanent. It was a temporary failure caused by a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into handing over confidential financial records to a scammer. Snapchat responded swiftly and aggressively to the incident, confirming it was an isolated incident and reporting it to the FBI within four hours. They also took steps to mitigate the impact on affected employees by offering them identity-theft insurance and monitoring. This incident was a result of specific circumstances (phishing attack) rather than a permanent failure inherent in the software system itself [40551]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, 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. [40551]
(b) omission: The failure in the article is due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) when an HR employee was tricked into handing over confidential financial records to a scammer through a phishing attack. This omission led to the disclosure of payroll information about some current and former employees. [40551]
(c) timing: The failure in the article is not related to the system performing its intended functions too late or too early. [40551]
(d) value: The failure in the article is due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly by disclosing confidential financial records to a scammer through a phishing attack. This led to the exposure of payroll information about some current and former employees. [40551]
(e) byzantine: The failure in the article does not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. [40551]
(f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident is the system being vulnerable to a phishing attack that tricked an HR employee into disclosing confidential financial information. This vulnerability highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures to prevent such incidents. [40551] |