The researchers said the vulnerability was found in the authentication system and could have been exploited through compromised operator credentials
Several space missions including that of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover could have been impacted. PIC COURTESY/NASA
Communications between Earth and NASA spacecraft were critically vulnerable to hacking for years until an AI found the flaw and fixed it in just four days. The vulnerability in the CryptoLib security software that protects spacecraft-to-ground communications was sniffed out by an AI cybersecurity algorithm developed by California-based start-up AISLE.
The vulnerability could have enabled hackers to seize control over countless space missions, including NASA’s Mars rovers, according to the cybersecurity researchers. The researchers said the vulnerability was found in the authentication system and could have been exploited through compromised operator credentials.
For example, the attackers could have gained access to user names and passwords of NASA employees through social engineering, methods such as phishing or infecting computers with viruses uploaded to USB drives and left where personnel could find them. In other words, an attacker could remotely hijack the spacecraft or just intercept the data it is exchanging with ground control.
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