Lofty Matters

Apparently some laptops carried on board by U.S. astronauts were infected with the Gammima.AG virus recently.

This is a password-stealing virus that is intended to transmit login names and passwords back to a central server.

No virus detection was installed on the network and NASA doesn’t know how the virus got onto the laptop. A memory stick is suspected as the source. No command or control systems were compromised.

“This is not the first time we have had a worm or a virus,” said NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries during a press conference. “It’s not a frequent occurrence, but this isn’t the first time.”

“We continually refine and update our procedures and do our best to protect the systems on the station,” Humphries said. She also added that security would be tightened up. “Our Expedition 17 crew on the station is working with flight control and engineering teams and with our international partners to identify and eradicate the virus that’s on board and we’ll look for any actions we can take to prevent that from happening again.”

NASA says that their systems are completely protected from the virus but that laptops do still connect through ISS’s KU band data link.

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