Hackers Trying to Get Control over the World's Second Fastest Computer?

A new day, another hack attack. This seems to be the perfect motto for the companies and organizations around the world, as they are all attacked by more or less powerful hackers aiming to steal their data. But this time, hackers targeted the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which hosts the second fastest computer in the world, AP reported today. Although the lab's official said the attacks were supposed "to be part of a coordinated attempt to gain access to computer networks at numerous laboratories and other institutions across the country," nobody knows for sure if the hackers ever wanted to get control over 'Jaguar'.

The attack didn't cause any data loss, the lab's representatives said, according to the same source mentioned above. "There was no classified data of any kind compromised. There are people who think that because they accessed this database that they had access to the lab's supercomputer. That is not the case. There was no access at all," lab spokesman Bill Stair told AP.

Just like usual, the attack was based on infected spam messages, which attempted to deploy malicious applications on the computers. It seems like the first email reached the inbox on October 29, while six more assaults came afterwards. "At first glance, they appeared legitimate," lab director Thom Mason said. Obviously, the email messages contained all sorts of text messages supposed to convince the readers that they had to open the attachments. One of them informed the employees about a complaint sent at the Federal Trade Commission, AP continued.

The lab's representatives have already sent emails to approximately 12,000 potential affected visitors although they underlined the fact that no information had been stolen.

Certainly, there's a problem with the computers' security. I wonder if they've ever installed a spam filter and if yes, how efficient is it since the emails have reached the inbox? However, the employees should be advised not to open any suspect email which contains malicious information, as the attackers aim to infect every single computer in the world.