NASA data left intact on PCs found in skip
With all the boffins over at the NASA Space Centre you’d think at least one of them would know how to properly wipe a PC’s data, but apparently not it would appear. An audit of their equipment has enraged inspectors as it has been found that many PCs with sensitive data stored on them were thrown out without deleting all the information stored on them.
Hard drives and whole PCs had been offered to the public, while some were simply left in a public skip. Whole pallets worth of computers were also found, with the NASA IP address clearly displayed on the side.
Obviously, it’s not a smart move. Even more remarkably, it according to the inspectors who noticed the slip up, they’re not moving particularly quickly to fix it either. They remain “troubled that management’s response does not reflect the sense of urgency we believe is required to address the serious security issues uncovered by our audit. Accordingly, we consider the recommendations to be unresolved.”
So, next time you walk past an abandoned PC by NASA’s HQ in Washington, why not take it home? It may have all the secrets of the known universe on it, and the blueprints for how to build a ship to get there. Forget WikiLeaks; if that isn’t a security risk I don’t know what is!
Via: The Register
