Hacker stole NASA databases using computer for $ 35

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) said an unknown hacker used a tiny Raspberry Pi computer to infiltrate the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory network, stealing sensitive data and causing a temporary shutdown of spaceflight systems, writes "Voice of America«.

According to a report released by 18 June, the attack in April 2018 went unnoticed for nearly a year.

The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized device that costs about 35 dollars. It connects to home TVs and is mainly used to teach children how to program and promote computer literacy in developing countries.

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Prior to detection, the attacker was able to download an 23 file of about 500 megabytes, the office of the Inspector General of NASA said.

The stolen data included two restricted-access files from the Mars Science Laboratory, which serves the Curiosity rover, and information regarding the International Weapons Regulations that restrict the export of US defense and military technology.

“Moreover, the attacker successfully gained access to two of the three main networks of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,” the report says.

NASA questioned the integrity of its Deep Space Network’s “and temporarily disconnected several space flight systems from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s network.”

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Penetration into the system occurred as a result of the fact that the system administrator did not update the database, which determines which devices have access to the network. As a result, new devices can be added without proper verification.

In response to the attack, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “installed additional monitoring systems on its firewalls” and revised network access agreements with its partners, the report says.