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European Space Agency Records Leaked For Amusement, Attackers Say (csoonline.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the how-long-until-we-lose-a-satellite dept.

itwbennett writes: A weekend data breach at the European Space Agency (ESA) by hackers calling themselves "Anonymous" has resulted in the release of 8,107 names, email addresses, and passwords of ESA supporters and researchers. "The leaked data highlights a troubling problem with regard to passwords used on the compromised domains," writes CSO's Steve Ragan. "Of the 8,107 passwords exposed, 39 percent (3,191) of them were just three characters long (e.g. 'esa', '469', '136', etc.)."

7 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Three characters? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 2

    Three characters is not enough for my luggage.

    1. Re:Three characters? by Nutria · · Score: 2

      Aren't Europeans supposed to be oh so much smarter than us rube Americans and our "they'll suck up the Sun's rays" idiocy?

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    2. Re:Three characters? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 4, Funny

      The woosh you're hearing is Spaceballs-1 passing over your head at ludicrous speed.

  2. Low opinion of ESA? by Crowd+Computing · · Score: 3, Funny

    Perhaps more damaging is the claim it was done for amusement: "Claiming the name Anonymous, those responsible for a weekend data breach at the European Space Agency (ESA) said the act was one of pure amusement (lulz) and not part of a larger scheme or protest."

    ISIS and Trump at least deserved some sort of mass attack.

    1. Re:Low opinion of ESA? by Solandri · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ISIS and Trump at least deserved some sort of mass attack.

      ISIS deserves to be hacked because they are out there killing innocent people.

      Trump, for all the stupid things he's said, has not committed a crime. The moment you start dehumanizing people who haven't committed a crime, deciding that it's OK to do bad things to them just because you disagree with them, and they're not worthy of the same rights and protections you give to people you agree with, you've started using the same reasoning ISIS uses to justify what they do.

      The acid test for supporting the First Amendment isn't whether you'll stand up to defend the right of people you agree with to speak their opinion. It's whether you'll stand up to defend the right of people saying things you find reprehensible to speak their opinion. When I was growing up, the concept behind the First Amendment was often summarized as, "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." At some point this has morphed into, "I disagree with what I say, and I will do everything I can to stop you from saying it as long as I don't get in trouble for it." That's a very dangerous slippery slope to start sliding down.

  3. Re:Why did the system store passwords? by mlts · · Score: 2

    Use nonces instead of salts for less sodium?

  4. Examples by dohzer · · Score: 2

    Does anyone have some more examples of three letter passwords? I'm having trouble understanding the concept.