Research institutions become hacker targets

Apr 30, 2004 11:31 AM

           

Hackers have broken into some of the world's most powerful computer clusters in recent weeks in an apparently coordinated cyber-attack targeting research and academic institutions, The Associated Press reports.
Security experts warn that such a break-in could potentially enable a serious attack on the Internet.
Stanford University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications were among the systems hit. Also affected was TeraGrid, a government-funded effort to link together several supercomputers, including those at San Diego and NCSA, so scientists can better crunch data for weather forecasting, astronomy and medicine.
"There's been some unauthorized access, but it's not that anything has been damaged or taken over," said Catherine Foster of Argonne National Laboratory, home to TeraGrid's coordinator. "This seems to be part of an effort (by hackers) to gain merit badges."
Law enforcement authorities could not specify how many institutions have been compromised, though officials described the number as large.

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