Too much system “phones home”
NASA computers are vulnerable to hackers and lacking
basic safeguards against abuse from employees and contractors, according
to a US congressional report.
The Government Accountability Office report with the
catchy title, "Information Security: NASA Needs to Remedy
Vulnerabilities in Key Networks." found that, even though NASA is the
single most hacked agency in federal government, the agency has yet to become a
hardened target.
Basic password protections were not followed on NASA's
computers, and rather elementary checks and tests for vulnerabilities
are not performed adequately. The reason for these weaknesses was that NASA had not yet
fully implemented key elements of its information security
program. Highly sensitive personal, scientific, and other data were at an
increased risk of unauthorised use, modification, or disclosure, the
report said.
NASA agreed wit the report findings but said that reforms
were already under way before this report was issued.