Space, the final frontier for Malware

By now, we are all aware that malware respects no boundaries. A reminder of this comes from NASA. They confirmed that laptops used on the International Space Station have been infected with a worm.

The malware in question here is W32.TGammina.AG. This is a worm that steals passwords for various online games. The worm spreads by copying itself onto removable media devices e.g. USB sticks. A ‘number’ of laptops were found to have been infected, so the worm clearly did manage to be effective. The laptops were not being used for mission critical purposes, but nevertheless, it is both worrying and embarrassing.

We have noted upon and cautioned, about the presence of worms and USB storage devices. It is a hark-back to the early days, prior to the ubiquitous presence of the internet, when malware was transmitted via physical means, most notably floppy-disks. There is an interesting juxtaposition here:  we see one of the most high-profile examples of technology being afflicted by one of the oldest infection methods in the book.

August 27, 2008 | Filed Under Security 

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