Hackers targeting NASA computers have breached the company\u2019s security and taken full control of systems at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<\/p>\n
The hackers also gained access to employee credentials, in an attack that came from a variety of China-based IP addresses.<\/p>\n
NASA Inspector General Paul Martin summed the attack up, \u201cIn other words, the attackers had full functional control over these networks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s report on NASA cybersecurity noted that, \u201cThe individuals or nations behind these attacks are typically well organized and well funded and often target high-profile organizations like NASA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report noted that there were a total of 5,408 incidents in 2010 and 2011 \u201cthat resulted in the installation of malicious software on or unauthorized access to its systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese incidents spanned a wide continuum from individuals testing their skill to break into NASA systems, to well-organized criminal enterprises hacking for profit, to intrusions that may have been sponsored by foreign intelligence services seeking to further their countries\u2019 objectives,\u201d Martin concluded.<\/p>\n