Large Hadron Collider computer hacked!

According to The Telegraph, hackers broke into a computer system at CERN, targeting the Large Hadron Collider experiment.  The source states that no major damage has been done to the system, however, it seems that the “experiment of the millenium” has some serious security flaws that need to be addressed.

The computer targeted was very close to the main control room computer, making this attack even more serious. This system monitors the Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment, which analyses data during particle collisions. The hackers uploaded a webpage with the headline “GST: Greek Security Team” and signed at the end “We are 2600–don’t mess with us,” as CERN scientists told The Telegraph.

Due to this attack, the CERN’s public website is no longer online, probably addressing the security flaws. The main question I can’t avoid at this time is, why do they link the Collider’s systems with the public hosts? I can’t imagine what happens if hackers get their hands on the main control server, but hey, let’s just hope this will never happen. CERN has recieved numerous threats regarding this experiment and as far as we know, this is the first real materialized threat.

    Sphere It