Nano-Biotechnology

Romanian Hacker Charged for Breaching NASA Computers, Disrupting Spacecraft Communication

NASA officials say he caused a damage of more than 1.5 million dollars (1.1 million euros)

By Lucian Dorneanu, Science Editor

9th of July 2007, 09:01 GMT

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Victor Faur, the 26 years old hacker that allegedly disrupted NASA communication with spacecraft

A Romanian hacker was charged, after a joint operation of the Romanian police and the FBI, with hacking into NASA computers. The US space agency notified in July the Romanian police that its servers had been breached by unidentified people who accessed secure networks from computers based in Romania.

Victor Faur, 26, from Arad, was charged with breaking into NASA servers and even disrupting communication with spacecraft, which forced the

agency to switch to manual communication and eventually rebuild its systems.

Faur was also accused of hacking computers belonging to the US navy and the Department of Energy between November 2005 and September 2006, according to an official statement. He was also previously indicted by the US Attorney's Office for allegedly being the leader of a hackers group called the "WhiteHat Team."

The group of hackers was famous for breaking into various computer systems precisely despite their reputation of being among the most secure in the world. It seems they weren't after all...

He graduated from the Faculty of Informatics in Arad, Romania and was selected to work for the IBM in the Czech Republic, where the company established its biggest center in central and southeastern Europe.

In television interviews, the hacker claimed his intentions were not destructive, as his actions only aimed at "proving that several computers are vulnerable to attack," and that they were not rewarded by any "material gains."

"I had neither modified nor erased the files, nor destroyed the communications systems," said Faur. He was denied the right to leave the country until the end of the investigation, which started in December.

Only last week, the US Department of Homeland Security admitted in a congressional panel that in fiscal 2005 and 2006, a number of 844 attacks on the lead US cybersecurity agency caused serious problems on its computer system, some leading to infection with viruses or other malicious applications.

Hackers around the world are known for breaking in some of the most secure computer networks just to prove that it can be done and often describe themselves as persons who enjoy exploring the advanced possibilities of programmable systems, searching for new ways to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.

TAGS:

hackers | computers | systems | spacecraft

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