Cyberthieves hit European Space Agency, stealing hundreds of gigabytes of data
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By Tereza Pultarova published 2 days ago
“It may be due to a lack of cyber hygiene from ESA staff.”
The European Space Agency (ESA) is recovering from a string of cyberattacks that leaked hundreds of gigabytes of potentially sensitive data onto dark web forums.
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The agency responded by launching a criminal investigation against the unknown hackers. But a leading space cybersecurity researcher warns that many such attacks have previously gone unnoticed and that sensitive data including email credentials of ESA, and also NASA, employees are frequently offered for sale on dark web forums.
ESA got some coal in its stocking this past Christmas. On Boxing Day, reports emerged of a trove of data containing the agency’s proprietary software, authorization credentials, access tokens and sensitive project documentation being publicly accessible online. A hacker operating under the code name 888 dumped his cyber loot of more than 200 gigabytes on a dark web forum.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/esa-email-credentials-on-dark-web