In 1999, a 15-year-old who called himself “c0mrade” hacked his way into NASA’s computers and stole $1.7 million worth of software that controlled the International Space Station. For his misdeeds, the teen was sentenced to six months in jail and was ordered to write a letter to the head of NASA saying he was sorry, as well as a similar letter to the Secretary of Defense (he also hacked the Pentagon). According to a pair of reports issued this week by NASA’s Inspector General, the 2018 version of c0mrade the teen would have a pretty damn easy time of worming his hormonal way into NASA, too.
One report focused on the agency’s Securities and Operations Center (SOC), which is based in Ames, Iowa and is meant to serve as NASA’s “cybersecurity nerve center.” It found that after ten years of existence, NASA hadn’t given its SOC much to really do, and even if it had, the SOC hadn’t developed the necessary tools to handle cybersecurity threats.
The second report audits the security of NASA’s supply chain and inadvertently points out the inherent weaknesses of the Trump administration’s vision for our space program — which involves essentially turning NASA into a…
