[ISN] GAO Report: NASA Still Facing Weaknesses In IT Security

[InfoSec News]

http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability_management/security/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222700163

By Tim Wilson
DarkReading
Feb 05, 2010

NASA made history earlier this week by releasing up-close pictures of 
Pluto. Here on Earth, however, it's the space agency's IT systems and 
security practices that need a closer look.

That's the conclusion of testimony (PDF) [1] offered to the U.S. House 
of Representatives Wednesday by Cristina Chaplain, director of 
acquisition and sourcing management at the Government Accountability 
Office.

The GAO, which upbraided NASA for security weaknesses in a report back 
in October, says the space agency still hasn't brought its security 
programs into line with previous recommendations.

NASA's shortfalls in IT security, which are partly the result of 
budgeting issues, increase "the risk of unauthorized access to NASA's 
sensitive information, as well as inadvertent or deliberate disruption 
of its system operations," Chaplain says.

[1] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10387t.pdf

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