Incident: Yahoo Mail Outage Affects Global Users, Authentication Issues Reported

Published Date: 2011-08-03

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident of Yahoo Mail happened on August 3, 2011. [7470]
System The system that failed in the Yahoo Mail outage incident was: 1. Yahoo Mail service [7470]
Responsible Organization 1. Yahoo - Yahoo Mail experienced severe outage issues affecting users globally, leading to error messages and connection problems [7470].
Impacted Organization 1. Yahoo Mail users globally were impacted by the software failure incident as reported by various users on Twitter and DownRightNow.com [7470].
Software Causes 1. Software authentication issues: Several users reported trouble with authentication, even after resetting passwords multiple times [7470]. 2. Server connectivity problems: Users encountered error messages such as "page not found" and "connection refused" when trying to access Yahoo Mail [7470]. 3. Service downtime: DownRightNow.com reported that Yahoo Mail was down, indicating a service outage [7470].
Non-software Causes 1. User authentication issues, including trouble resetting passwords multiple times [7470] 2. Inaccessibility of Yahoo services to some users in certain locations [7470]
Impacts 1. Users experienced severe outage issues for over 24 hours, with error messages such as "page not found" and "connection refused" when trying to access Yahoo Mail [7470]. 2. Users globally reported being unable to connect to the service, leading to frustration and confusion on social media platforms like Twitter [7470]. 3. Some users faced authentication problems, even after attempting to reset their passwords multiple times [7470]. 4. DownRightNow.com, a site tracking downtime for popular web services, reported that Yahoo Mail was down during the incident [7470]. 5. The outage caused inconvenience to users and potentially affected their ability to access important emails and information [7470].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust monitoring systems to quickly detect any service disruptions or outages [7470]. 2. Conducting regular load testing and capacity planning to ensure the system can handle peak loads without crashing [7470]. 3. Enhancing authentication mechanisms to prevent issues with password resets and user authentication [7470].
Fixes 1. Resolving the authentication issues and password reset failures experienced by users could help fix the software failure incident [7470]. 2. Addressing the connectivity issues reported by users, such as the "page not found" and "connection refused" errors, is crucial to resolving the incident [7470]. 3. Ensuring that all Yahoo Mail services are fully restored and functioning properly is essential to fix the software failure incident [7470].
References 1. Reader who contacted CNET about severe outage issues with Yahoo Mail 2. Users posting on Twitter about their inability to connect to Yahoo Mail 3. DownRightNow.com, a site that tracks downtime for popular Web services 4. Yahoo's official statements provided to CNET [7470]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - Yahoo Mail experienced severe outage issues, with users reporting problems accessing the service [7470]. - Yahoo acknowledged the issues and stated they were working to bring the services back online [7470]. - Yahoo mentioned that some services were inaccessible to users in certain locations and apologized for the inconvenience caused [7470]. - Yahoo quickly resolved the issue and restored all services to full functionality [7470]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - The article does not mention any similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article as Yahoo Mail experienced severe outage issues for over 24 hours. Users reported error messages such as "page not found" and "connection refused" when trying to access the service. Additionally, users faced authentication problems even after resetting their passwords multiple times. This indicates that there were issues introduced during the system development or updates that led to the service disruption [7470]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident from users reporting that they cannot connect to Yahoo Mail and experiencing difficulties with authentication. Some users mentioned that they were unable to log in, while others expressed confusion about the service being "messed up." These issues point towards problems arising from the operation or misuse of the system, impacting users' ability to access and use Yahoo Mail [7470].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident with Yahoo Mail seems to have been primarily within the system. Users reported issues such as severe outages, error messages, connection problems, and authentication troubles directly related to accessing Yahoo Mail services [7470]. Yahoo acknowledged the problem and mentioned that some of their services were inaccessible to users in certain locations, indicating an internal issue that they were working to correct [7470]. Additionally, the company stated that they quickly resolved the issue and restored all services to full functionality, further suggesting that the problem originated within their system [7470].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the Yahoo Mail outage was primarily due to non-human actions. The article mentions that Yahoo acknowledged having troubles with its services and was working to bring them back online. The issue was affecting users globally, with reports of severe outage issues, error messages, and connection problems. DownRightNow.com also reported Yahoo Mail as being down, indicating a widespread technical issue beyond human control [7470]. (b) Human actions also played a role in the software failure incident. Users reported trouble with authentication and attempting to reset passwords multiple times without success. Additionally, the article mentions Google's launch of an "e-mail intervention" tool aimed at coaxing users to switch to Gmail, which could have influenced the timing and impact of the Yahoo Mail outage [7470].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: - The article does not mention any specific hardware-related issues contributing to the Yahoo Mail outage. It primarily focuses on the service being inaccessible to users, trouble with authentication, and efforts to restore functionality [7470]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: - The software failure incident with Yahoo Mail was primarily due to issues originating in the software itself. Users reported being unable to access the service, facing error messages like "page not found" and "connection refused." Additionally, there were authentication problems, with users unable to log in even after resetting passwords multiple times. Yahoo acknowledged the troubles with its services and worked to bring them back online, indicating that the root cause was software-related [7470].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 7470 does not indicate any malicious intent behind the outage. The issue with Yahoo Mail was acknowledged by Yahoo, and they mentioned that they were working to correct the problem and restore all functionality immediately. The company apologized for any inconvenience caused to users and stated that they quickly resolved the issue to bring all services back online. There is no indication in the article that the failure was due to any intentional harm to the system [7470]. (b) The software failure incident in Article 7470 appears to be a non-malicious failure. The article describes how Yahoo Mail experienced severe outage issues, affecting users globally. Users reported issues with authentication and difficulty accessing the service, with error messages indicating problems connecting to the mail server. Yahoo acknowledged the problem, worked to resolve it quickly, and apologized for any inconvenience caused to users. The outage was not attributed to any malicious intent but rather to technical difficulties that Yahoo was actively addressing [7470].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident reported in the article does not provide clear evidence of poor decisions contributing to the failure. The incident seems to be more related to technical issues causing the outage, such as authentication problems and service unavailability. There is no explicit mention of poor decisions made by the company leading to the failure. (b) The software failure incident appears to be more aligned with accidental decisions or mistakes rather than poor decisions. The article highlights technical issues like authentication problems, service unavailability, and downtime experienced by users. These issues seem to be more related to technical glitches or unintended errors rather than deliberate poor decisions made by the company.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident reported in the article does not provide any specific information indicating development incompetence as the cause of the Yahoo Mail outage. The article mentions that Yahoo acknowledged having troubles with its services and was working to bring them back online. It also states that Yahoo quickly resolved the issue and restored all services to full functionality. There is no indication of incompetence in the development process as the cause of the outage [7470]. (b) The software failure incident reported in the article seems to be more aligned with an accidental failure rather than one caused by development incompetence. The outage was not universal, as some users and even CNET staffers had no problem accessing Yahoo Mail. Yahoo acknowledged the issue, worked quickly to resolve it, and restored all services to full functionality. The article does not suggest that the outage was a result of intentional actions or incompetence but rather an unexpected technical issue that Yahoo promptly addressed [7470].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in the Yahoo Mail outage was temporary. The article mentions that Yahoo Mail was down for many users for a period of time, but Yahoo acknowledged the issue and worked quickly to resolve it. The company stated that they were working to bring the services back online and that all services were restored to full functionality [7470]. This indicates that the failure was not permanent and was resolved within a certain timeframe.
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the Yahoo Mail outage can be categorized as a crash. Users reported being unable to access the service, receiving error messages such as "page not found" and "connection refused," indicating a failure of the system to perform its intended functions [7470]. (b) omission: The incident also involved omission as part of its behavior. Users mentioned that they were unable to log into Yahoo Mail, indicating that the system was omitting to perform its intended functions at that instance [7470]. (c) timing: There is no specific mention of timing-related issues in the articles provided. (d) value: The incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The behavior of the software failure incident did not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure. (f) other: The other behavior observed in this incident was the system showing inconsistent responses to users, with some experiencing issues while others had no problem accessing Yahoo Mail [7470].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence unknown (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? The articles do not mention any consequences such as death, harm, impact on basic needs, property loss, or non-human entities due to the Yahoo Mail outage. The main consequence discussed is the inconvenience caused to users who were unable to access their emails during the outage. Yahoo acknowledged the inconvenience caused and apologized to affected users.
Domain information, other (a) The Yahoo Mail system, which experienced a severe outage issue, is related to the industry of information as it is a service for email communication and information exchange [7470]. (b) The article does not mention any direct relation to the transportation industry. (c) The article does not mention any direct relation to the natural resources industry. (d) The article does not mention any direct relation to the sales industry. (e) The article does not mention any direct relation to the construction industry. (f) The article does not mention any direct relation to the manufacturing industry. (g) The article does not mention any direct relation to the utilities industry. (h) The article does not mention any direct relation to the finance industry. (i) The article does not mention any direct relation to the knowledge industry. (j) The article does not mention any direct relation to the health industry. (k) The article does not mention any direct relation to the entertainment industry. (l) The article does not mention any direct relation to the government industry. (m) The Yahoo Mail system failure incident does not fall under any of the specific industries mentioned above, so it can be categorized as "other" in terms of industry.

Sources

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