Computer hacker endangered NASA astronauts

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WIRE:07/02/2000 20:20:00 ET Documentary: Computer hacker endangered NASA astronauts

LONDON (AP) _ A computer hacker endangered shuttle astronauts in 1997 by overloading NASA's communication system, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday. As the shuttle docked at the Russian space station Mir, a hacker tapped into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration computer system that monitors the heartbeat, pulse and medical condition of astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

"We had an activity at NASA center where a hacker was overloading our system ... to such an extent that it interfered with communications between the NASA center, some medical communications and the astronaut aboard the shuttle," Roberta Gross, inspector general at NASA, said in a BBC documentary to be aired Monday.

NASA was forced to switch systems and talk to the astronauts via the Russian station Mir.

The report was released ahead of premiere of "Cyber Attack," which looks at how hackers are able to penetrate the defense systems of such countries as the United States and Britain.

Gross said NASA has numerous fail-safe measures to ensure communications, "but it shows the potential hackers have for doing some real damage to NASA's mission and astronaut safety."

In the past year, NASA has experienced more than 500,000 cyber attacks, the report said.

"Everybody knows if there's a problem at Houston, a potential vulnerability or someone is able to supersede the system we set up, that's dangerous," Gross said.

Astronaut Michael Foale, who was part of the 1997 mission, told the BBC he was not informed of the problems at the time, but found the revelations intriguing.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20000702_654.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 02, 2000

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July 3, 2000, 7:23PM

BBC report not correct, NASA says Agency: Shuttle not imperiled by hacker Reuters News Service

WASHINGTON -- NASA disputed a British Broadcasting Corporation report Monday that a computer hacker put space shuttle astronauts' lives at risk in 1997 by overloading its communications system.

"News reports that a computer hacker endangered the lives of space shuttle astronauts during a 1997 mission are wrong," the U.S. space agency said in a statement.

"There has never been an interruption of communications service with the shuttle due to computer hacker attacks," NASA said.

"The command and control communications links between Mission Control and a space shuttle in orbit are extremely well insulated," the statement said.

NASA inspector general Roberta Gross told the BBC program Panorama that a hacker interfered with computer systems monitoring the heartbeat, pulse and medical conditions of the shuttle crew as it docked with the Russian Mir space station.

"We had an activity at a NASA center where a hacker was overloading our systems ... to such an extent that it interfered with communications between the NASA center, some medical communications and the astronauts aboard the shuttle," Gross said.

Although NASA had backup communication systems, the incident "shows the potential that hackers have for doing some real damage to NASA's mission and astronaut safety," she said.

The NASA statement acknowledged that Gross' office found the transmission of routine medical information was "slightly delayed due to a computer hacker" during the September 1997 mission.

But the agency said the transmission was successfully completed. It said the interruption occurred between internal ground-based computer systems.

"At no time was communication between NASA and the astronauts compromised," NASA said.

Panorama interviewed Gross for an investigation into how Internet and computer systems have become the vulnerable spots in the defenses of Western nations.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/594389

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 04, 2000.


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