[FPSPACE] ISS hit with computer virus from Earth below

[Peter Pesavento]

>From the Guardian (UK)

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/28/spacetechnology.spaceexplor
ation

 

Computer virus infects orbiting space station

*	Damien Francis 
*	 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian> The Guardian, 
*	Thursday August 28 2008 

As far as space monsters go it is less menacing than Daleks or Klingons, but
an unwanted intruder has made its way aboard the international space
station. 

Gammima.AG, a malicious password-swiping computer virus, has broken new
frontiers, by infecting two laptops on the ISS orbiting 215 miles above
Earth.

The virus was first detected on Earth in August 2007 infecting machines to
steal login names for popular online games.

Nasa officials have begun an investigation into how the virus made it aboard
the ISS, but it is thought it might have been inadvertently carried into
space on an astronaut's USB drive.

Reports suggested that once on board the station, the memory device was
plugged into the computers, infecting them both.

Computers on the ISS are not directly connected to the internet but they
have access to a satellite data link. They are not part of the space
station's "command and control" network, Nasa said.

It is understood astronauts were using the laptops to compose email and
store information on nutritional experiments.

Once it has scooped up passwords and login names Gammima.AG tries to send
them back to a central server. It targets a total of 10 online games most of
which are popular in the Far East.

Nasa, who described the virus as a "nuisance" is now working with its
international partners on the space station, including Russians, to find out
how it got on board. Nasa spokesman Kelly Humphries said: "It's not a
frequent occurrence, but this isn't the first time." 

The ISS is a joint project between Nasa, the European Space Agency, and the
space agencies of Canada, Russia and Japan. It has been continuously manned
by astronauts since 2000.

 

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