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from the this-is-jack's-complete-lack-of-surprise dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
If you were trying to enter the US on Monday, queues were much longer than usual. That's because a Christmas software update borked the main computer systems used by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
On Monday, the main passenger checking system used by CBP to check for undesirables trying to get into the Land of the FreeTM fell over.
Lines grew as returning New Year's travelers – not to mention the 100,000 people heading into the annual tech show jamboree that is CES – backed up waiting to be processed.
"CBP took immediate action to address the issue and CBP officers continued to process international travelers using alternative procedures at airports experiencing the disruption," a spokesman told The Register.
"Travelers at some ports of entry experienced longer than usual wait times, and CBP officers worked to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security."
An investigation has been launched, but CBP says it seems that a software update for the system was rolled out on December 28 and didn't work quite as advertised. IT managers out there will be giving a knowing chuckle and rolling their eyes at this – it's not an uncommon problem but one you wouldn't expect in such a crucial system.
[...] One thing CBP is very careful to stress was that this was not a malicious attack. With the US currently embroiled in government hacking fears, it appears that this one can't be blamed on the Russians or the Chinese.
(Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Thursday January 05 2017, @12:14PM
I came in on Tuesday. Didn't notice anything more than usual. Guess I dodged that bullet.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday January 05 2017, @06:19PM
Came in on Sunday, and the unnecessarily redundant procedures actually went a bit faster than usual.
Considering the intercontinental flight took off 4 hours late, not getting the usual 90 minutes immigration crap was the best news of the day.
May I recommend doing the next update on March 1st, or a statistically low-traffic week?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @12:22PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @01:06PM
One thing CBP is very careful to stress was that this was not a malicious attack.
Nope, not a malicious attack. They did it to themselves.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Nerdfest on Thursday January 05 2017, @02:30PM
Well, odds are IBM was involved. That always seems to be bordering on malicious.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06 2017, @03:45AM
One thing CBP is very careful to stress was that this was not a malicious attack. With the US currently embroiled in government hacking fears, it appears that this one can't be blamed on the Russians or the Chinese.
Why not? The evil commies are the current dog-ate-my-homework of IT failures, why wouldn't you take up this marvelous opportunity to shift blame? Sheesh, I would if my head was on the block for the failed upgrade. "It wasn't me, it was old Lyutyj over there who caused it!".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ledow on Thursday January 05 2017, @01:08PM
What idiot pushes a software update on December 28th?
Leave it until the New Year, or sort it out long beforehand.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @06:51PM
We had a similar problem, and the supervisor pushing the updates was warned earlier that support staff would be thin during the holidays. He was objectively proven an idiot when bleep happened, yet kept his job.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday January 05 2017, @07:03PM
Friends don't let friends deploy software and drink.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Thursday January 05 2017, @10:56PM
At a guess, maybe someone anticipating the insertion of a leap second at the end of the year?
/article.pl?sid=16/12/30/1511206 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Thursday January 05 2017, @01:09PM
The only reason that would make sense would be if there's some API change. But if they didn't preserve backward compatibility in the API, then they deserve what they get. Then again, for rolling it out everywhere at once, they deserve what they get anyway.
Even if you're stupid enough to roll it out everywhere simultaniously, is Christmas really the quietest time of the year? Isn't it called "the holiday season" and do you not visit your family at that time of year? Did they think that scheduling through *at all*?
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by BenJeremy on Thursday January 05 2017, @01:21PM
I'm guessing this was HPE again, right? They've been playing bait-and-switch, and I've heard, from people I used to work with, that the NASA debacle was headed by a first rate fuckup who was exiled from NMCI a few years ago. It would not surprise me to find out some college intern doing the job of 4 laid off senior engineers (while HPE continues to charge the government the engineering rates) pushed an untested release.
I guess in the end it won't matter... in a few months Enterprise Services will be CSC's problem and by November (when the SEC restrictions expire), the ink will be drying on the remainder of HPE and HPI's sale to Lenovo and/or Dell.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @04:48PM
And there on the screen was a smiling Bill Gates
Next to jolly old Santa, two arm-in-arm mates.
And I heard them exclaim in voice so bright,
"Have a MICROSOFT CHRISTMAS,
and TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday January 05 2017, @11:47PM
and then Bill took Santa from behind, as he has been doing to MS users for Y E A R S ! ! !
(but Santa barely noticed because, you know, Micro and Soft.)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @05:25PM
So back to trusty groping and skin color then
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday January 05 2017, @07:05PM
All developers are blessed to have a testing environment to deploy software to.
Those who are doubly blessed are provided with a separate production environment in addition to testing.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @09:06PM
"On Monday, the main passenger checking system used by CBP to check for undesirables trying to get into the Land of the FreeTM fell over."
By "undesireables", they must mean single white males.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday January 11 2017, @08:55PM
Yes, politicians