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A ‘white hat’ hacker claimed to have breached NASA’s systems for the second time, revealing critical security vulnerabilities, before posting a gleeful “Hacked NASA Again” to his X account.

Fortunately for the space okes, the hacker reported the issues to NASA and gave them some pointers on how to address the loopholes.

But instead of kicking in his front door ala Hollywood-style, NASA sent the hacker an official letter of appreciation, acknowledging his contribution to identifying weaknesses and helping to protect the agency’s systems.

The letter was signed by Mark Witt, NASA’s Chief Information Officer, and lauded the hacker’s actions which played a role in safeguarding the “integrity and availability” of its information infrastructure.

I Hacked @NASA (again) and reported some vulnerabilities to them. Just today, I received this appreciation letter from them after they patched the loopholes! pic.twitter.com/t4w92culxK

— 7h3h4ckv157 (@7h3h4ckv157) September 26, 2024

The Space Agency commended the hacker for spotting the flaw while adhering to NASA’s Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP). Additionally, the hacker received recognition for their contributions as an “independent security researcher.”

“The ability to detect and report security vulnerabilities is a valuable skill in the information security industry.”

The Space Agency went on to explain that because the hacker announced his presence, they were able to protect the “integrity and availability of NASA’s information”.

The hacker’s post has received over 1.8 million views and an array of comments, mostly positive.

“Congrats! That’s a massive personal resume builder.”

“Good on NASA for rewarding security researchers (rather than punishing with legal action), it’s really only in their best interests. Massive props and congratulations to you, good sir.”

NASA got off light this time, they should perhaps consider signing up with RSAWeb for better Firewall protection.

RSAWeb has teamed up with cyber security partners Fortinet and ESET Cyber Security – both global leaders in the cyber security industry – to protect your business against cyber threats from viruses, trojans and phishing to malware and ransomware, and space-loving hackers.

[source:ndtv]