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NEO tracking computer hacked

Posted by epgrondine at 14:28, 14 Feb 2010

"Until further notice, all circular issuance from the MPC (and CBAT,
which is continuing to issue IAUCs/CBETs via the CfA for the next
few months) is suspended.

"I received a phone call from our Computation Facility informing
me that my Linux account had been hacked. While they investigate
the problem and try to track down the gimboid who did this, my
user account and the two accounts used to mail out circulars have
been disabled. It is unlikely that our core VMS cluster has been
compromised (since I don't recall accessing my VMS system from any
CF Linux system), but I have yet to do full check of the network
logs. The earliest indication that the CF has that something was
amiss was yesterday evening, so kudos for them jumping on the problem so quickly.

"I will work on setting up an alternate route for mailing out
circulars, but that is going to take some time. The posting of
circulars on the Web, as well as the updating of various data files
on our web/ftp server may be off-line for some time.

"Gareth"

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Update on effects of the NEO tracking computer hack
#1
epgrondine's picture
Member since:
23 October 2006
Last activity:
7 weeks 5 days
Posted by epgrondine on 18 Feb 2010 at about 01:31.

"As a result of the recent hacking at CfA and the consequent
uncertainty as to when we will be able to update the website at CfA, the Minor Planet Center is announcing (several months ahead of its planned date) the availability of its official mirror site:

http://www.minorpla netcenter.org/iau/mpc.html

It will eventually be an exact copy of the CfA site. At the
moment, it is nowhere near complete. The only links that are
functional currently are:

1) Recent MPECs page, along with the MPECs issued in 2010.
2) The MPC Status page (and the E-Mail Woes pages)
3) The NEOCP
4) The MPES
5) The New Object Ephemeris Generator
and any link to a script or page on the MPC's webserver.

Other links will be made active in the near future, but the priority was to the NEOCP and MPECs back on the web. Until access to the main CfA site is restored, the copying to the mirror site will be very slow.

If you experience problems using the new mirror site, send a full report via the Feedback Forms.

Gareth"

You really have to ask yourself why anyone would do this.
Kind of leads to the broader questions concerning "evil".

—

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas