The US Space Agency ( NASA ) did not erase sensitive information from a number of computers and hard drives before selling the equipment as part of its plan to end the space shuttle program, jeopardizing their safety.
The Office of the Inspector General discovered what it called a “serious” security breach at NASA centers in Florida, Texas, California and Virginia. “Our review found several violations in NASA’s IT (information technology) security practices that could lead to the improper disclosure of sensitive information relating to the space shuttle and other programs,” explained NASA’s Inspector General, Paul Martin, in a statement. The report cites 14 Kennedy Space Center computers that failed tests to determine if sensitive information was removed, 10 of which have already been released to the public. It also found that hard drives were missing at Kennedy and the Langley Research Center in Virginia. Some of Kennedy’s hard drives were later found in a garbage dump, where they were being stored prior to sale, which was accessible to the public, the audit says.
Investigators found several computers prepared for sale and marked with NASA internet protocol (IP) addresses, which the report said could help hackers gain access to the organization’s internal computer network.
