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IS 376: Computer Errors, Failures and Risks

IS 376: Computer Errors, Failures and Risks. Dr. Kapatamoyo 9/5/13. Douglas Adams.

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IS 376: Computer Errors, Failures and Risks

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  1. IS 376: Computer Errors, Failures and Risks Dr. Kapatamoyo 9/5/13

  2. Douglas Adams • The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair. • Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless (author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) • Correlation doesn’t imply causation. • Usually a cop out.

  3. Themes • Discussion is framed in • Speed, • Size, • Scope, and • Reach

  4. Errors are Inevitable • http://www.notboring.com/jokes/computer/1.htm

  5. Errors are Inevitable • Computer errors are inevitable. • Errors arise from: • Bad information fed into the computer; • User misinterpretation of the information; • Machine malfunction; • Sometimes a combination of all these. • Consequences may be trivial (nuisance value), costly (huge dollars) or even lead to death and injury.

  6. NCIC

  7. NCIC Records • National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Est. 1967: • http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/ncic.htm • Database has several millions of records related to stolen automobiles, missing persons, wanted persons, suspected terrorists, etc. • Some legal cases include: • Sheila Jackson Stossier, an airline attendant was confused for Shirley Jackson who was wanted in Texas and arrested in Louisiana. • Stolen ID of Michigan resident Terry Dean was used to obtain driver’s license in California. The real Terry was arrested 5 times in 14 months. LA City compensated him $55,000.

  8. Privacy Act of 1974 • “No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains....”

  9. Privacy Act of 1974 • Further provisions are: • Data records should be “relevant and necessary” to the purpose for which they are collected. • Establish procedures to allow individuals to see, copy, and amend records about themselves. • Requires publishing notices describing all systems of records (no secret records). • Agency is required to make reasonable efforts to maintain accurate, relevant, timely, and complete records about individuals. • Information collected for one purpose MAY NOT be used for another purpose without notice to or the consent of the subject of record.

  10. Amended Privacy Act of 1974 • Ted Bridis an Associated Press Writer (link) • March 25, 2003, that The Justice Department lifted a requirement that the FBI ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information about criminals and crime victims before adding it to the country's most comprehensive law enforcement database. • The Privacy Act previously required the FBI to ensure information was "accurate, relevant, timely and complete" before it could be added to the system.

  11. Train Derailments • Two high profile summer crashes. One of them, a system failure, the other man’s failure but just as catastrophic.

  12. Sensor Errors • A malfunction caused by ice build up on the PITOTTube of Air France Flight 447 from Rio De Janeiro to Paris was blamed for the plane crash killing 228 people on board on May 31st, 2009. • Or the Toyota Prius and Camry sudden acceleration in 2009 and 2010 • http://news.yahoo.com/video/vehicles-accelerator-gets-stuck-35-023308404.html

  13. Systems That Never Worked • A $193 million Automated Baggage Handling system at Denver International Airport. • Bags where monitored by 56 bar code scanners and 5000 electric eyes. • Luggage was lost or damaged by the automated baggage handlers. • The system over shot the budget to $311 million. • The city ordered a conventional system at $50 million. • Its eventual cost was $71 million.

  14. Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machines • Indian version

  15. Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machines • US version

  16. Direct Recording Electronic Voting • The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) provides money to states to replace punch card voting systems and improve standards on administering elections. Led to the establishment of the Election Assistance Commission • DRE voting machines are certainly fast at counting votes, but have vulnerabilities. • DRE machines are widely used in India where 417 million people voted in 2009 parliamentary elections. • 1.4 million EVMs in use throughout the country in 2010. • DRE machines have been banned in some countries, e.g. the Netherlands for fear of eavesdropping. • Zambia used EVMs from Israel for last 3 elections.

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