NASA Reveals It Had a Security Breach in October
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The agency is investigating the incident.
NASA is investigating a possible data breach of current and former employees' personal information.
The space agency discovered the breach on Oct. 3 after finding a compromised server and disclosed the breach Tuesday to employees in an agencywide memo, which the website Spaceref posted.
The server contained employee personal information, such as Social Security numbers, though the agency doesn't know if whoever breached the server actually stole this information. The agency's cybersecurity personnel has managed to secure the server and is currently working with "federal cybersecurity partners" to investigate further.
NASA does not believe that the breach has affected any scientific missions.
"NASA takes cybersecurity very seriously and is committed to devoting the necessary resources to ensure the security of agency information and IT systems," NASA said in a statement to CNET.
The agency also indicated that it would provide identity protection services to anyone potentially impacted by the breach.
This isn't the first time NASA has gotten in trouble for its cybersecurity. Reports from the Government Accountability Office and the agency's Inspector General released earlier in 2018 indicated that NASA has repeatedly dropped the ball on IT management and cybersecurity.