USB Hacks In Space - Computer Virus Infects Space Station Computer via Flash Drive!
NASA has disclosed that the Gammima.AG computer virus was discovered by NASA on several laptops carried to the International Space Station. Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected.
Guess how they think it got there? Apparently they suspect an astronaut brought a USB flash drive infected with the virus with them on board. The ISS has no direct net connection and all data traffic travelling from the ground to the spacecraft is scanned before being transmitted. The space agency also plans to put in place security systems to stop such incidents happening in the future…EVEN NASA HAS A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT ENDPOINT SECURITY.
I think this highlights issues faced by businesses and governments, even the agency with some of the smartest engineers in the world forgot about the weakest link in the security chain. People. What is interesting is that a lone USB flash drive was brought on board with what the astronaut thought was just games, this not only reflects the need to think about endpoint security and portable devices, but also policies regarding lifestyle devices in the workplace…especially if you are on the Space Shuttle. In such an environment as the US Space Program you can bet that rules, policies and security are front and center and all rules are adhered to as it is literally mission critical, if one strays just a little bit from these rules people can die and billions of tax dollars can be wasted. So I am pretty sure that the astronaut who brought the infected drive on board was not aware of the risks posed, nor was he/she told that in would be an issue.
Sources:
BBC News
Scientific American