Highlight

Every year, dozens of heavy and light-duty cars are flagged for safety problems so serious that they require an immediate repair to correct a known defect. The number of recalls, as well as the number of vehicles affected, has been increasing over the last few decades - in 2023 alone, more than 30 million vehicles were recalled. According to US statistics, more and more safety recalls reveal the need to fix an electronic problem: Software-related malfunctions now account for more than 1 in 5 car recalls, according to an analysis released earlier this year of a decade of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall data by the law firm DeMayo Law. A separate estimate by Envorso, an American consulting firm specializing in software strategy for the automotive sector, highlighted an even more dramatic impact: The total number of vehicles affected by recalls related to software errors jumped from almost 15% of all vehicles recalled in 2023, to almost 42% of all vehicles recalled so far this year. In other words, more than 12 million vehicles were recalled due to software problems by the end of October. Earlier this year, Stellantis recalled more than one million vehicles in the US due to a software problem that prevented rear-view cameras from working properly. An investigation by the Detroit Free Press, published earlier this year, also revealed that millions of used and aging cars currently on US roads are not being repaired, despite dangerous defects identified by car manufacturers and the federal government. The investigation also found that the manufacturers of these cars are making little progress in repairing their older models with safety problems, putting a growing and vulnerable group of drivers at unnecessary risk. The continuation of the original article via Detroir Free Press can be read here. 

In Germany, a software error affected the state elections in Saxony, leading to a miscalculation of the new parliamentary seats. The state's electoral administration has now clarified the situation. The software glitch in the calculation of the distribution of seats in Saxony's new state parliament has been corrected, and this error had no effect on the provisional election result, according to the state election administration. According to the preliminary results, the CDU achieved a result of 31.9%; with the AfD just behind with 30.6% and BSW achieving 11.8% from the start. The SPD got 7.3% and the Greens 5.1%. The Left Party fell to 4.5% and the FDP to 0.9%. The decision on the distribution of seats in the 8th Saxony State Parliament will be taken by the state election commission after the official final result, which is still pending, the administration added. However, due to the recalculation after the crash, the AfD will most likely not have a so-called "blocking minority" in the state. The party has launched an investigation - "If there are any irregularities, we will take legal action," said Jörg Urban, the leader of the AfD's parliamentary and state group in Saxony, demanding a precise analysis of the error. A "blocking minority" means that a party has more than a third of the seats in the state parliament. In this case, it can prevent certain state laws that are passed with a two-thirds majority of all MPs. In Saxony, as in other federal states, constitutional judges and the president of the Court of Auditors, for example, are elected by a two-thirds majority of MPs. This means that certain positions could not be filled without the approval of the AfD, which could also have prevented the state parliament from dissolving itself. The original article via Diesachen can be read here. 

Volvo recently announced the recall of more than 72,000 electric vehicles due to a software error. According to the Swedish giant's press release, these EX30 model vehicles may accidentally display a "test screen" on the central monitor, obscuring the normal driving statistics displayed, including the speedometer and infotainment features. The exact cause of the problem has not yet been revealed. The bug was first detected during last month, when Volvo announced a recall of 1,255 vehicles, specifically in Australia. "Due to a software error, the infotainment unit's display may enter a test mode during vehicle start-up. This may prevent important information, such as vehicle speed, from being displayed," reads the Australian recall. "Failure to display important information could potentially increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users." In fact, what makes this error especially problematic is that, unlike almost all other cars, all the statistics and information on these Volvo models, such as speed, are located only on the central display. For this reason, when an error of this nature occurs on the test screen, drivers are left without knowing exactly how fast they are going. Fortunately for EX30 owners, it won't be necessary to take their vehicles to the workshop or dealers to have the error corrected. An update, called version 1.3.1, is now available for anyone to download and install. This is not the first time that Volvo has encountered software problems in its latest cars. According to Volvo's public statements, the top-of-the-range EX90 was delayed by half a year just to concentrate on software development. The stakes are high when it comes to software and potential problems, especially when important components of a vehicle depend directly on the software to function properly. The original article via TheRegister can be read here. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a recall of the highest severity level for a mobile application connected to an insulin pump. The application, the t:connect Mobile App iOS v2.7 from Tandem Diabetes Care, was recalled due to a bug that affected its communication with the t:slim X2 insulin pump. This detected software error could put diabetes patients, who rely on the app to control their insulin levels, at serious health risk. The FDA has advised patients to stop using the affected version of the app for the time being, and to return to using the insulin pump's integrated user interface until the problem is resolved. The company Tandem Diabetes Care is already fixing the problem and is expected to make a corrected software update available soon. In the meantime, users have been encouraged to keep a close eye on their glucose levels and consult their healthcare professionals about their insulin management. In the analysis of the problem in question, it was observed that this application - intended to be synchronized with the t:slim X2 insulin pump - stops and restarts abruptly, which can lead to rapid depletion of the pump's battery and users may not be able to access or control it via the application. In these situations, interruptions in insulin administration can occur, posing serious health problems for patients dependent on the pump. The original article via BaselineMag can be read here. 

Last week Apple released the latest update to its operating system, iOS 17.5, and although this update didn't bring with it many new features, its release was marked by a software error that causes old photos to reappear in the gallery, even though they have already been deleted. The first reports of this problem appeared on social media, especially on Reddit, where some users expressed their surprise when they realized that they had found old photos, which had already been deleted years ago, marked as "recently uploaded" in iCloud. Another user even shared a similar episode: "I have four photos from 2010 that keep showing up as the last photos uploaded to iCloud. I've deleted them several times". "I had a photo of a concert taken with my Canon camera, which reappeared in my phone's library as if it had been added today" - added another user. It's not clear why this problem has occurred, but given that some of the photos were apparently taken years ago, it can't be a problem of recently deleted photos not being deleted. In Apple's "Photos" application, deleted photos and videos are kept in the "Deleted" album for 30 days, so that users can recover them or permanently remove them from all devices.Still, the latest reports indicate that this could be an indexing bug, corruption of the photo library or a synchronization problem between local devices and iCloud Photos. Another possibility is that, in trying to fix a photo synchronization bug that occurred in iOS 17.3, Apple inadvertently caused a new synchronization problem that may involve iCloud backups. Some users running iOS 17.5 developer beta 4 have previously reported similar experiences. The original articles via PPLWare and Tom's Guide can be read here and here.

For those wishing to progress in their professional careers, here are three tips to help you stand out in the world of Software Testing: 1. More and more companies are demanding ISTQB® software testing certification for tester/QA roles. So if you don't already have an ISTQB® Foundation Level certification, don't waste any more time! This certification is mandatory before any other, and can really help boost your career path, enabling you to progress in your current company, or even get a new job. 2. Having an ISTQB® Foundation Level certification is the first step in the right direction, however, companies like their employees to evolve in their knowledge, and for this reason, you should also look for other ISTQB® certifications. Fortunately, PSTQB has all the available ISTQB® certifications at its disposal: not only those focused on specific areas, such as the ISTQB® CTFL Mobile Application Tester or even the ISTQB® CTFL Gambling Industry Tester; but also the more common ones, such as ISTQB® CTFL Agile Testing; and even the most recent one, which has aroused a lot of curiosity in the community, such as ISTQB® CTFL AI Testing. On the other hand, you can also take more advanced levels if your career requires it: in this case, ISTQB® CTAL Test Manager and ISTQB® CTAL Test Analyst, or even ISTQB® Techincal Test Analyst are good examples of steps to consider. (3) If you are interested in securing an ISTQB® certification, do so through PSTQB, with the support of an authorized training entity, or even independently if you wish. If you are successful, don't forget to update your CV and profile on professional social networks, as well as keeping in touch with other testers/QAs on the market. Original article translated and adapted from the American Software Testing Qualifications Board (ASTQB).

According to reports on social networks and forums, in recent months a software error has affected PlayStation Network (PSN) users, causing their games to be removed from their transaction history, making it impossible to use them. This problem was initially detected and exposed by a user on the Reddit social network. "In recent months, there has been an error affecting a relatively small number of PSN users," the post begins. The bug allegedly involves unlinking games purchased and titles added to your library via PlayStation Plus (PS+) from your transaction history. Specifically, this bug seems to be related to game licenses, which caused players to receive the error message CE-117773-6 when using them. According to the author of the original post, affected users may notice that their transaction history appears to be working correctly, however, the "Purchased" tab only shows the titles that were added after the error - "When trying to download, you will be asked to buy/add it on PS+, but if you try to do that, the system will tell you that you already have the content." In practice, according to this user, the installed games affected by the bug appear with a padlock icon and are not launched. Since it was published, the post has received thousands of reactions and hundreds of comments. "We need legislators to pass laws that protect consumer rights when it comes to digital goods," said another user. It's true that digital property has a number of advantages over physical games, being quicker to load and avoiding the accumulation/storage of disks. Nevertheless, they have a major drawback, since they are subject to companies being able to withdraw access to games at any time. This is not the case, but vulnerability to errors and glitches have prevented people from temporarily accessing their games. On the other hand, there were those who defended Sony, saying that all software is subject to bugs at any time - "There is no widely used software that doesn't have bugs," reads the same post. The author of the original thread also offered some tips to some users who may be affected by the supposed error: "My recommendation for anyone who receives an error message when trying to launch a game that was previously released normally is to first go to Playstation.com and check your games library - "Take a look at the "Purchases" tab and make sure it matches your complete history of games purchased/added on PS+", he added. He also left a warning: "If anything looks wrong, don't run the 'Restore Licenses' command on your console." The US Sun contacted Sony for comment, but has not yet received a reply. The original article via TheSun and USTimesPost can be read here and here.

Last week, a widespread power outage led US telecoms giant AT&T to fear the worst, but the problem was far from something truly nefarious. The cause of AT&T's network outage has been revealed, and in a statement published on the company's own website, and shared with CNET, the problem in question was the result of software and not a cyber-attack - "Based on our initial analysis, we believe that today's outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used when we were expanding our network, and not by a cyber-attack," the statement reads. "We are continuing our assessment of today's outage to ensure that we continue to provide the service our customers deserve." This outage still lasted several hours, even affecting mobile connectivity for AT&T users across the country. In addition, a source familiar with the matter told CNET that the problem occurred while AT&T was performing its regular maintenance, which usually happens during the night. Reports on social media also suggested that the outage was widespread, with Downdetector, a website where users can report problems with websites and services, showing a spike in problems with AT&T across the country. The operator recommended that customers use other services such as Wi-Fi calling to connect with others while the network was down. The original article via CNET can be read here.

A software glitch in the GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control) system on the upper stage of Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket led to the payload not being placed in low orbit. During the Fly the Lightning mission on December 22, Alpha's upper stage did not work as planned due to an error in the GNC software, Firefly said in a statement issued this month. This failure left the upper stage and its payload, a Lockheed Martin demonstration satellite, in a low perigee orbit. After an investigation involving Firefly and independent experts, it was discovered that "a bug prevented the system from sending the necessary thrust commands to the reaction control system engines before the second stage". The Firefly team has not revealed the details of this problem, but the preliminary assessment is that this system was used to ensure the correct phase orientation and fuel regulation in the engine. Bill Weber, managing director of Firefly, said that the team was proud of its work which led to a positive investigation. According to him, it was an important achievement, and the long-term goal is to develop Alpha as a reliable rocket that is in demand in the space launch market. Firefly is currently working to correct the error in the GNC software and implement other changes to better identify similar problems in the future. The US company also stated that Alpha will be ready for its next launch in the coming months, but no specific date was given. As a result of this error, Lockheed Martin's satellite ended up entering orbit with an initial perigee of around 215 kilometers. Lockheed accelerated the testing of satellite antenna technology and achieved significant mission objectives in just a few weeks. The satellite entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 10. Firefly has not announced an exact date for the return of the Alpha rocket, but company executives have confirmed that they plan to carry out four Alpha launches this year, as planned before the incident. Brett Alexander, Firefly's chief revenue officer, expressed confidence that the incident would not slow down the company's growth. The original article via Gadget Tendency can be read here.

Health insurer CZ wants customers to repay millions paid out due to a computer error In the Netherlands, health insurer CZ has seen its system affected by a software error, responsible for automatically generating a declaration that led to tens of thousands of customers receiving higher refunds than they were entitled to in 2022 and 2023. According to Dutch daily De Volkskrant, CZ is now demanding that this money be returned, amounting to around millions of euros. The error in question relates to the assessment of dental treatments for people who have taken out supplementary insurance for this purpose. At issue is the coverage of treatments that resulted from an accident, and in some cases, CZ also paid for treatments that were unrelated to any kind of accident. According to the announcement in a letter sent to affected customers at the end of January, the Dutch insurer admits that: "an error occurred in our systems". The fact that CZ's customers are not to blame for the error is no reason for CZ not to recover the money: "In fact, people have received compensation to which they were not entitled," said CZ's spokesperson. If the company doesn't recover the money, all policyholders will have to pay for the mistake, "which isn't fair", he added, admitting that most customers will only have to pay back a few dozen euros. The original article via NL Times can be read here.