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Greek Hackers Target CERN's LHC

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the try-try-again dept.

Doomsayers Delight writes "The Telegraph reports that Greek hackers were able to gain momentary access to a CERN computer system of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) while the first particles were zipping around the particle accelerator on September 10th. 'Scientists working at CERN, the organization that runs the vast smasher, were worried about what the hackers could do because they were "one step away" from the computer control system of one of the huge detectors of the machine, a vast magnet that weighs 12,500 tons, measuring around 21 meters in length and 15 meters wide/high. If they had hacked into a second computer network, they could have turned off parts of the vast detector and, said the insider, "it is hard enough to make these things work if no one is messing with it."'"

4 of 445 comments (clear)

  1. Hold on a second... by Millennium · · Score: 0, Redundant

    You mean to tell me that the builders of the LHC didn't even have the foresight to air-gap the control system? Christ; you'd think they wanted people to shut it down.

    Think about it, people. This will probably be the most-attacked computer system in the world for the next month or two, most of it coming from crazed doomsayers with delusions of Saving The World (tm). An air gap is the pretty much the least you can do against something like that.

  2. Apparently they never read about the war... by scubamage · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Beware of Greeks bearing laptops.

  3. How'd they get in? by themadplasterer · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I know, they went in the via the back door

  4. It's OK. by xactuary · · Score: 0, Redundant

    The Greeks were only bearing gifts. Oh wait... never mind.

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