‘Unknowns’ Hacking Group Hits NASA, Air Force, Harvard and Others in ‘Hacking for Good’ Effort
- Posted on May 4, 2012 at 11:28am by
Liz Klimas
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(Image: The Unknowns/Twitter)
A new hacking group with the name “The Unknowns” has targeted NASA, the European Space Agency, the U.S. Air Force, Harvard University and others but not as an outright malicious attack. The group has said it released information it hacked from these organizations to show them just how vulnerable their systems are.
Space.com reports the hack dates back to March, although passwords and documents from the previously mentioned organizations, as well as the U.S. Military’s Joint Pathology Center, the Thai Royal Navy, Renault, the Jordanian Yellow Pages and the Ministries of Defense of France and Bahrain, were posted on a Pastebin site earlier this week.
NASA has said the agency detected the hackers on April 20 and took that area of the site offline. No sensitive information was breached. Space.com reached out to other organizations mentioned in the hack but they have not responded.
Space.com has more on the hacker’s intent:
In its message, The Unknowns explained the impetus for their exploits, and warned they could have caused much more damage than they did.
“Victims, we have released some of your documents and data, we probably harmed you a bit but that’s not really our goal because if it was then all of your websites would be completely defaced but we know that within a week or two, the vulnerabilities we found will be patched and that’s what we’re looking for.”
The hackers said they are “ready to give you full info on how we penetrated threw [sic] your databases,” and told the affected organizations to contact them.
Tweets from The Unknowns.
According to the hacking group’s Twitter account, they go by the slogan “We are The Unknowns; our knowledge talks and wisdom listens…” Space.com calls their hacking stance “hacking for good,“ meaning they hack with an ”ethical” intent.
News of this hack comes at a time when NASA is trying to maintain its security image. Earlier this year, NASA announced it was heightening its cybersecurity after it was revealed an unencrypted laptop with command codes to the International Space Station was stolen. This was just one of 48 laptop thefts between 2009 and 2011. An ongoing investigation into the Chinese allegedly hacking into NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was also revealed at the time.
(Related: Another NASA laptop holding employees’ personal info goes missing)
PC World reports Sally Harrington, a public affairs specialist with the Glenn Research Center, saying in an email that the ”agency takes the issue of IT security very seriously and at no point was sensitive or controlled information compromised.”
[H/T Fox News]
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N37BU6
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:10pmWhite Hats have been around forever, and there are much older, bigger groups out there… but the media never cared, because they weren’t stylish enough to qualify as entertainment.
That lame hoodie graphic did it all… the media is so malleable.
Report Post »midnightvelvet
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:16amPardon me for stating the obvious: Their “ethics” are merely an excuse for their hacking. Their real reason is to feed their narcissism.
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:38ammeh – hacking is over-glorified.
Report Post »PJ3
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:37amI wonder if they know how to hack into the computer chip that is in Biden’s brain and fix it hehe
Report Post »Matt
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:08amI support hacking for good, I mean, that is exactly how antivirus programs are built, by creating the viruses before the evil guys do. But it should be done ethically. Ask NASA permission to hack them before you do.
That being said, “The Unknowns” is a pretty lame name.
Report Post »PJ3
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:32amI like the name :)
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 11:01pmhope they out the people spraying the chemtrails…names ,locations’, family.
would love to pay these sobs a visit.
Report Post »TexasHunter
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 4:26pmI hope they find Barry’s school records and show the world!!
Report Post »Macman1138
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 7:02pmBarry’s school records show that he applied for student aid as a foreign student and they he listed misplace of birth as Kenya.
Report Post »PJ3
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:34amNow THAT would be an act of patriotism!
Report Post »SeniorCitizen214
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:49pmCatch them and incarserate them – let them know there are some things that will get you in trouble.
Report Post »TexasHunter
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 4:25pmGET OWEBAMA’S School Records!!
Report Post »Pearsontech
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 4:32pmTorn on this because their heart seems to be in the right place but they are going about it wrong. There is such a thing as certified ethical hackers and they do this kind of stuff for a living but they get the permission of those they are doing it on. What this group is doing while it may not really be wrong on the surface it is illegal and unethical.
Report Post »nonofmybiznez
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 5:58pmI want to know who paid for his education or if he got grants as a foreign born. Chances are his mentor radical Communist Frank Marshall Davis or his good friend Bill Ayers father who just happened to give Obama his first start in Chicago paid for it. We all deserve to know if these are just fanciful ideas or not.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:34pmYeh, We NEED to Know the GOOD STUFF
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:30pmI need to flip a coin… to see if… I should Laugh or Cry!
Report Post »SerikFox
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:03pmI’ve read about people who do this before; if they really only hack to help nasa and others upgrade their security then good for them.
Report Post »fangbanger
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:44pmthis is the difference between white hat hackers and black hat hackers. i personally am going to college to be a white hat hacker- more commonly known as a cybersecurity specialist.
Report Post »suedstate
Posted on May 4, 2012 at 1:58pmWonder if they hacked into O’s school records, if so a lot of people sweating in the WH.
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