According to NASA officials, a virus of low-destructive ability had infected the laptops being used at International Space Station. Though a laptop might have been partially damaged, the whole of the computers used to control the space operations remained intact.
The virus was capable of stealing password of laptops used by gamers of as many as ten different online games. However, it couldn't bring a serious harm to the space station, so its functions are found in normal conditions.
The NASA officials have termed this computer virus as W32.Gammima.AG. This low-risk virus, according to Symantec, an anti-virus software company, based in California, is a Window based virus. It needs to get copied, for its spread, using removable media.
NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries described this password thief as a “nuisance.” He said, “This is basically a nuisance, ” from Johnson Space Center in houston.
Interestingly, this virus was detected much earlier, on July 25. The search is on to detect and trace how it got to reach this too secured space station. However, NASA officials, bound by NASA protocol,refrained from briefing on the details of the virus, and the quantum and type of efforts taken to stop it from inspiring any potential damage to computers.
Further, they seemed confident to track its origin as Humphries said, "We'll do our best to track down how it got there and close that gateway."
But didn't seem perturbed by this latest invasion of a virus on board. "This is not a frequent occurrence but we have had viruses that have made their way on board before," he said. Importantly, the space station has a history of such virus attacks.
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