| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the iMessage security hole was reported to have been patched in iOS 6 by Apple after it was discovered earlier in the year [15819]. The incident involved a bug that allowed texts through iMessage to continue to appear even after the phone's account information had been wiped, the SIM card deactivated, or the password changed. This flaw was considered significant enough for Apple to implement several new checks for iMessage in iOS 6 to address the issue permanently.
(b) There is no specific mention in the provided article about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services. Therefore, it is unknown if this particular software failure incident occurred elsewhere. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The iMessage security hole was a bug that allowed texts to continue appearing on a stolen iPhone even after the phone's account information had been wiped, the SIM card deactivated, or the password changed. This flaw was identified earlier in the year and was patched in iOS 6 through the introduction of new checks for iMessage, including a critical tweak that required users to re-enter their password when changing their Apple account ID [15819].
(b) The software failure incident in the article is not directly linked to the operation phase or misuse of the system. The flaw was primarily due to a bug in the iMessage system that allowed messages to still be received on a stolen iPhone even after security measures like wiping the phone or deactivating the SIM card had been taken. The fix implemented in iOS 6 addressed this issue by introducing new checks and procedures within the iMessage system [15819]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident related to the iMessage security hole was within the system. The bug allowed texts through iMessage to continue to appear even after the phone's account information had been wiped, the SIM card deactivated, or the password changed. This issue was resolved in iOS 6 by implementing new checks for iMessage, such as requiring users who change their Apple account ID to re-enter the password to use iMessage. Additionally, inserting the SIM card in a new phone with the same associated number or remotely wiping the phone automatically prevented the iPhone from receiving texts through iMessage, showing that the fix was implemented within the system [15819]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to non-human actions. The iMessage security hole allowed texts to continue appearing on a stolen iPhone even after the phone's account information had been wiped or the SIM card deactivated, indicating a flaw in the software itself [15819]. Additionally, the bug was identified as an "extremely rare situation" that occurred due to a specific set of circumstances, rather than being directly caused by human actions [15819].
(b) Human actions also played a role in the software failure incident. According to an Apple spokeswoman, the flaw occurred when a retail employee did not follow the correct service procedure and used their personal SIM to assist a customer without a working SIM. This human error contributed to the exploitation of the security hole [15819]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The iMessage security hole allowed texts to continue to appear even after the phone's account information had been wiped or the SIM card deactivated, indicating a persistence of data on the hardware side [15819].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The bug in iMessage that allowed stolen iPhones to still receive text messages intended for the device's owner was a software issue that was patched in iOS 6 through new checks and critical tweaks for iMessage [15819]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is non-malicious. The iMessage security hole was not intentionally created to harm the system but was a bug that allowed texts to continue appearing on a stolen iPhone even after account information had been wiped or changed [15819]. The issue was acknowledged by Apple and addressed through software updates to prevent unauthorized access to iMessage on lost or stolen devices. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the iMessage security hole was primarily due to poor decisions. The flaw was initially caused by a retail employee not following the correct service procedure and using their personal SIM to help a customer without a working SIM, leading to the bug being exploited [15819]. Apple acknowledged the issue as an "extremely rare situation" but still took steps to permanently fix the flaw by implementing new checks and requirements in iOS 6 to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. The article primarily focuses on the discovery and patching of a security hole in iMessage on iOS 6, which allowed texts to continue appearing on a stolen iPhone even after account information was wiped or changed. The issue was acknowledged by Apple and addressed through various checks and tweaks in the software to prevent such vulnerabilities in the future.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is hinted at in the article. The Apple spokeswoman mentioned that the flaw was attributed to an "extremely rare situation" that occurred when a retail employee did not follow the correct service procedure and used their personal SIM to assist a customer without a working SIM. This suggests that the incident may have been accidental and not intentional. |
| Duration |
permanent |
The software failure incident related to the iMessage security hole was considered temporary. The incident was described as a bug that allowed texts to continue appearing even after certain actions like wiping the account information or deactivating the SIM card ([15819]). Apple addressed this issue by implementing new checks and requiring users to re-enter their password when changing their Apple account ID to use iMessage, thus resolving the bug and protecting against it in the future. The company took steps to fix the flaw permanently, indicating that it was a significant issue that needed to be addressed ([15819]). |
| Behaviour |
other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. Instead, the issue was related to a security hole in iMessage that allowed texts to continue to appear on a stolen iPhone even after account information had been wiped or the SIM card deactivated [Article 15819].
(b) omission: The software failure incident does not involve omission where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the issue was related to a bug in iMessage that allowed text messages to still be received on a stolen iPhone even after certain security measures had been taken [Article 15819].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not involve timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The issue described in the article was related to a security vulnerability in iMessage that allowed messages to continue appearing on a stolen iPhone even after account information had been changed [Article 15819].
(d) value: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The issue with iMessage described in the article was related to a security flaw that allowed messages to be received on a stolen iPhone despite security measures being taken [Article 15819].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not involve a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The issue with iMessage described in the article was related to a security vulnerability that allowed text messages to still be received on a stolen iPhone even after certain security measures had been taken [Article 15819].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be categorized as a security vulnerability in iMessage that allowed text messages to continue to appear on a stolen iPhone even after account information had been wiped, the SIM card deactivated, or the password changed. This issue was addressed by Apple through several new checks for iMessage in iOS 6, including requiring users to re-enter their password when changing their Apple account ID and implementing measures to prevent text messages from being received on a stolen iPhone [Article 15819]. |