[iwar] NASA investigating hacker theft of sensitive documents (fwd)

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2002-08-10 07:09:40
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Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 07:09:40 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [iwar] NASA investigating hacker theft of sensitive documents (fwd)
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Update: NASA investigating hacker theft of sensitive documents

By DAN VERTON 
AUGUST 08, 2002

WASHINGTON -- NASA cybercrime investigators are looking into the theft of
militarily significant design documents pertaining to the next generation
of reusable space vehicles. 
The documents, which are restricted under current export laws from being
shared with foreign nationals or governments and are also strictly
controlled under the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR),
were obtained by Computerworld from a hacker who claims to be based in
Latin America. 

The documents were authored by contractors from The Boeing Co. and a joint
venture between East Hartford, Conn.-based Pratt & Whitney and Sacramento,
Calif.-based Aerojet. All of the vendors also labeled the documents
"competition sensitive," and while it is not yet clear whether sensitive
data on military and commercial technologies may have been compromised,
defense and intelligence experts said the incident could have both
national security and political ramifications. 

Bob Jacobs, a spokesman for NASA, confirmed that the documents contain
sensitive military information and should have been stored in a closed
database. There is no information on how or from where the documents were
stolen, and investigators couldn't confirm whether a hacking incident had
taken place. 

However, a hacker known only by the nickname RaFa, a former member of the
now defunct World of Hell Hacker gang, uploaded to a Web site more than
43MB worth of documents, including a 15-part PowerPoint presentation that
included detailed engineering drawings. The documents also included
detailed mechanical design information on the COBRA space shuttle engine
design program, and the risk reduction plan for the Boeing TA4 Advanced
Checkout, Control & Maintenance System (ACCMS). The ACCMS is essentially
the ground control system for the next generation of space shuttles. 

NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is part of the
agency's long-term Space Launch Initiative, a multibillion-dollar effort
to design a new, safer and more efficient space transportation
architecture by 2005. The Defense Department is a key partner in the
effort because of its interest in the RLV program's applicability to
military satellite programs and future military space plane designs. 

After Computerworld broke the story of the NASA hacking on its Web site
Thursday afternoon, RaFa told the publication that he didn't understand
the sensitivity of the information he had, and he acknowledged that he has
shared the documents with hackers in France. 

RaFa also showed Computerworld evidence of a second hack into systems at
NASA's White Sands Test Facility. He produced dozens of user accounts and
claimed to have used an anonymous FTP vulnerability to conduct both hacks.

The incident may not be an isolated one. When asked how easy or difficult
it is to crack into NASA systems, a hacker by the nickname Hackah Jak, a
member of the defacement group known as Hackweiser, replied, "Who hasn't
hacked NASA?" 

"Anyone can put together a scanner and in a few minutes have access to a
few government systems," the hacker said. "In fact, many hackers sit
around and break into government systems just to secure them because they
feel that the government is way too lazy." 

Breaking into the systems allows hackers to show system administrators
where vulnerabilities are, Hackah Jak said. 

Regarding the stolen NASA documents, "These particular records would
probably be of most interest to a country trying to build their own space
launch vehicle," said Steven Aftergood, an analyst at the Federation of
American Scientists in Washington. However, "I'm not sure that anyone else
could use them either for good or ill." 

On the other hand, "the ITAR provisions are quite strict, and they entail
serious penalties for violations," said Aftergood. "If a private person
transferred ITAR documents abroad, he could be subject to hefty fines or
jail time." 

Allen Thomson, a former CIA scientist, said this type of information would
likely be of interest to so-called "peer competitors" in the commercial
and military space market, such as Russia and Japan. However, the general
concern is that the documents could contain information that would be of
use in countering the capabilities of a military version of the RLV, said
Thomson. 

John Pescatore, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc., said the
disclosure of the documents on the Internet is "a very bad thing," mainly
because it may represent only "the tip of the iceberg." 

"Many limited distribution documents can be aggregated to indicate very
sensitive information," said Pescatore. "Another problem is the ability
for someone to modify one of these documents and put it back where they
found it -- there are many more possibilities for damaging incidents under
that scenario, too." 

Walt Rice, a spokesman for Boeing, said the company doesn't have enough
information on the incident to comment. However, it plans to offer any
assistance to NASA investigators that is requested. Patrick Louden, a
spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, said the company is deferring all comment
on the incident to NASA. 

http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,7330500.html

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