Virus Infects Space Station Laptops (Again)
Viruses intended to steal passwords and send them to a remote server infected laptops in the 
International Space Station in July, NASA confirmed Tuesday.
And according to NASA, this wasn't the first infection.
"This is not the first time we have had a worm or a virus," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said. "It's not a frequent occurrence, but this isn't the first time."
That suggests that even in the future where space travel becomes an experience to complain about, rather than get dressed up for, computer viruses will still be tagging along uninvited.
NASA downplayed the news, calling the virus mainly a "nuisance" that was on non-critical space station laptops used for things like e-mail and nutritional experiments.
NASA and its partners in the space station are now trying to figure out how the virus made it onboard and how to prevent that in the future, according to Humphries.
NASA declined to name the virus, but SpaceRef.com, which broke the story, reported that the worm was W32.Gammima.AG worm -- a worm first detected in August 2007 that installs software that steals credentials for online games.
The virus did make it onto more than one laptop -- suggesting that it spread via some sort of intranet on the space station or via a thumb drive.
Humphries did not know when the laptops entered the space station or what country bought them, though he did indicate that the hardened equipment on the space station was typically purchased by Russia or the United States.
The International Space Station has no direct internet access, but astronauts can send and receive mail though a KU band data link also used for data and video transfer, according to Humphries.
That means the space station laptops are not connected to the net, according to Humphries.
"Everything is scanned before it goes up, so it's an indirect connection," Humphries said.
As for whether mission critical systems are connected to the same network as these kinds of laptops?
"I don't know and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you for IT security reasons," Humphries said.
Photo: NASA/ Laptops on the International Space Station
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Why not use some Linux? If the laptops are used only for e-mail stuff then why not? Linux is not very popular (thanks God!) and therefore there is little motivation for writing viruses for it.
For a second there,I thought he had iTunes open in the background on the Thinkpad to the right
NASA is already a big Fedora shop, so it seems like a GREAT time for them to use it everywhere. Plus, it's a government operation, so more openness is good for their goals.
Tell Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum that they don't have to hit EVERY large object circling the planet...
The astronauts are looking at too much pRon.
@melvin,
There are several viruses aimed at Linux/Unix platforms for the same reason there are several Windows based viruses. There are thousands of servers out there running *nix. Web servers, database servers, mail servers, and more. *nix may not be as popular as a desktop OS. But it is still very prevalent as a server OS.
Since these guys write these viruses for fame in their little lame virus writing circles, I think posting the actual name of the virus is a bit irresponsible. Now you're going to have a bunch of little code-hacker-wanabees thinking that the ultimate bragging rights are having your crappy worm on the international space station, and having it written about on WIRED.
Is it true many questioanable web sites frequently contain (bad code) viruses.
That isn't I-tunes running but Winamp.
Five bucks said they have Norton on their computers... haha..
I own Geek Stop computer repair in the DFW area of Texas, and my specialty with computers is virus's and spyware removal. That virus is a pretty generic keylogger, I am surprised that NASA security isn't a bit more on par with preventing virus's.
However I do feel that even with the best security software out there.. it is still quite easily possibly to get virus's... you can't use virus scanners as a crutch... they are there to help protect you, not be an impenetrable shield to let you "rambo" anywhere on the internet you please...
www.geekstoponline.com
I thought NASA was full of smart people. Do they not know that Macs wouldn't have these problems??
Hello,
According to Symantec's description of the worm, it functions as a keylogger to obtain passwords for several MMO games which are primarily played in Asian languages (Chinese, Korean and so forth). While malware is blind to national borders, it is possible the infection was a computer (or a USB flash drive) used to access services related to these games, such as online forums and fan sites, or the games themselves.
Out of curiosity, were there any astronauts or payload aboard before the malware was discovered that were either from or had been to Asia?
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
I new it!
Can we have a damn virus post without some Mac zealot coming in and claiming to have the unhackable machine to end all machines.
Here let me say it... what one said man can make, another said man can break.
Most all mission critical servers on this planet are Windows or some flavor of *nix.
Someone in another post said it best. Writing a virus for a Mac is like invading Greenland... you could by why the hell would you want to.
P.S. Steve Jobs is handing out the kool aid. Its $800 a glass its shiny and he promises Jim Jones and Tim Leary have not touched it.
Why are they still using windows ME...? Tell the astronauts to stop surfing p0rn
Why are they still using windows ME...? Tell the astronauts to stop surfing p0rn
Why are they still using windows ME...? Tell the astronauts to stop surfing p0rn
@Linux
Well, they are obviously running Windows and That is definitely a HUGE problem I'd say. It has the virus.
I mean, with Windows you just expect to get hit with a virus. It's a given- it's just a matter of When and how often. Why would you put it on a space station with that knowledge???
With a Mac or Linux it's probably not likely to happen. Personally I would NOT trust windows with my life. - On a space station? Forget it.
What gets me is the Windows zealots that don't man up to this software failure, but when it's business as usual I guess you get used to it. Until it kills you.
welcome to cyber front
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_r
If they had to switch to Linux, they'd probably be pissed at not being able to run most of their applications.
They should just not do anything important on a machine that can be compromised, and have strict requirements on recreational usage being done on recreational machines.
at least they didn't get the win antivirus 2009/8 or whichever variant you prefer; that thing is a bitch to remove! i work in a computer store and every person that comes in with problems has that program running and updating...
but i do still have to wonder, where the hell did they get the worm from, seeing as how there's no direct "internet" connection? i vote porn also.
In reply to this quote"I new it!
Can we have a damn virus post without some Mac zealot coming in and claiming to have the unhackable machine to end all machines." The question is not whether you can write a virus for the Mac OS, the question is whether there are any Mac OS viruses out there. The answer is no, not now and not likely in the future. So, which system would seem to be the best system to have? The answer: the system that can run the required programs and not have issues with viruses. It's the same answer we all face. I choose Mac.
I feel the biggest problem being we work within one big Bureaucracy and their is so many checks and balances of the wrong nature - this is the actual cause of the problem. This probably could have been avoided if staff was trained correctly and communication was direct instead of through texting and email most of the time. With the structure of todays business processes it is normal for these types of occurances. In my openion it is not so bad it happened once, but the fact that it keeps reoccuring proves it stems from poor business practice. It would be nice if people and or management worried about doing and saying what is right instead of doing and saying what is politically correct.
Why not Mac? Easy. The same reason why they are using Thinkpads instead of Macbooks. Doing serious stuff requires serious hardware and software, not toys. Look for Macbooks in movies. That's where all the computer neophytes got the idea of getting one.
Intosh: I'm laughing at the obvious troll. That comment was SO last century. I've been on Macs over 20 years - doing serious work with "serious hardware and software". NASA use to love Macs, actually, until some GAO bean counters forced them to swallow the Windows kool-aid. I did a network software deployment across 2000 Macs at Lockheed-Martin's Colorado facilities (they're a major NASA contractor - they don't consider Macs toys either). But I guess you know better than some major engineering contractors. And Mac market share has grown back to near double-digits only because kids see them in movies.
Well, well, this is quite a victory for whoever programmer the virus or worm, isn't it. WIRED's story and recognition is like them winning a gold medal.
Putting winblows in space should be a fireable offense. Don't these people realize that computer viruses can easily live in the harsh environments in space? This should be pretty simple folks, do you pick an OS that is stable and has few/no viruses written for it in the wild (*nix or OSX, which is also based on an OpenBSD derivative), or do you pick one that is so busy tripping over it's own DRM trashware and AV scanners that it can't avoid the millions of viruses written for it?
Someone should get fired over this, it's inexcusably stupid.
It's not rocket science, people! I just wanted to say that. After this story, I'm sure all remote access connections (such as these via KU link) to NASA systems will be secured to keep password sniffers away. The weakest link for infection is probably the USB and CD/DVD drives, if uploads are really scanned.
Aryeh - yes, astronauts have been to Asia. Some actually live there. All of their IBM laptops were made by a Chinese company.
Thomas - I worked at Lockheed before I became a fed. The guy in graphics who made up the signs for the company picnic used an Apple computer. They must be good computers, because I never missed the picnic.
Good lord people it is a laptop used to send and recive email. Where in the article does it state that Windows is being ran in a mission critical invoroment? And if I remember correctly Mac was the first to fail in the pwn2own challange a few months back. Just calm down and understand that it is just a stupid laptop for them to check email with. Anyone who claims one is better than the other is truly an idiot. Each OS fills a diffrent nitch.
Yes, melvin, God has taken care to keep Linux from being popular, but not AIDS.
Wow. Clearly the biggest, most pressing, and most divisive issue on the planet is "Mac vs. Microsoft."
How people get so worked up about consumer electronics sold for a profit is beyond me. And yes, I use both Macs and PCs. And no, I really don't think one is "better" than the other (now...though about 9 years ago, Apple had a stability advantage until Microsoft started taking their OS architecture more seriously). They're pretty comparable now, like many things in the modern world, ultimately your choice boils down to personal preference. Apple still holds an edge in design and aesthetics, which isn't so surprising, since that's what America loves. We can forgive just about anything if it's pretty enough.
But Microsoft still has an edge in functionality. Yes, I know about the plethora of applications for Apple. But it's harder to find some kinds of apps for Apple than for a Windows machine, and there are generally far more Windows apps than there are comparable ones for Apple.
The design philosophies of the two companies are summed up well with their offerings of laptops (MSI Wind vs. Macbook Air) and cellphones (OSes, anyway).
Mac OS will get respect when it can actually run as many software, support as many hardware and has as many enterprise functionalities as Windows. Until then, no thank you, try harder.
I completely understand the perspective of Linux or Mac OS X rather than Windows in a scientific environment. When you are in the research environment and you write the software, it makes perfect sense.
But when you throw together an international crew, possibly contributed applications from all over the world, and need to do general purpose tasks like e-mail and word processing, going to the lowest common insecure denominator doesn't surprise me.
In recent years, I've been completely shocked by the number of aerospace engineers and scientists who haven't been POSIX-trained, and are at the mercy of MS-centric IT departments. I had thought that NASA would be a bit better about this, but I think they are being swept up in .Net fever.
In reality, I think the Linux / Mac OS X / POSIX crowd is starting to lose its grip on the scientific community. As we get further away from experimentation and depend more on simulation to do science, desktop ease and support availability (in the name of productivity) are driving what scientists and engineers use.
I think macs wouldn't work in space, if only because of the sudden motion sensor that is meant to detect when the laptop is falling and shut down the hard drive… but since in orbit you are always falling, the computer might just lock up!
I'm probably totally wrong. It would be funny though. Also, using an iPod touch or iPhone in space could be problematic for similar reasons…
?
All of you saying porn in space? How does that make any sense?
"This is hueston, what is your current status?" ... "Uhhh, five minutes hueston!"
Come on, seriously, and since everything "floats", I don't even want to think about it.
And yeah, macs are too overpriced for what NASA wanted these machines for: They're Lenovos. Just face it, Apple is a hardware company that happens to sell a BSD variant with a few proprietary features on their non-custom build, overpriced machines.
And darwine is an absolute failure, as opposed to wine on linux, which other than being free, PC compatible (wine, hardware), and without viruses shares the same benefits as a mac without, you know, the whole gay white look, expense, hardware lock-in, and sucking Job's dick.
Macs are for college kids that need a niche so they can be rebellious and blow their student loans "in style".
^^^
think he pretty much nailed it. Let's see how long it takes another macintrash zealot to come in and troll...
http://typicalmacintoshuser.com/
Hey now OSX is far superior than any other, nix nubs are just jealous.
Typical Macintosh User out. ~
http://typicalmacintoshuser.com/
For Heavens sake, get a Mac. Windoze systems shouldn't be aboard the ISS.
As someone who knows a bit about this particular network, there are a few things you are all missing. First off astronauts are people too, people who train for years to fly.. and adding training to their schedule for things like email/productivity software is a waste of time. They all know how to use Windows products so you dont waste time by throwing something else at them. These are productivity laptops, nothing more. Secondly like everything on ISS policy on a given piece of hardware is largely up to the country that owns it. Just because a virus got onboard doesn't mean it came through a US path....
FU Typical Machintosh User !
could someone please write a mac virus just to make these mac lemmings stfu already about thinking that macs don't get infected because they're any less susceptible?
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What are NASA astronauts doing with their computers that requires them to run Windows instead of something built with network security in mind (e.g., GNU/Linux or Mac OS)?