Outer-Space Hacking a Top Concern for NASA’s Cybersecurity Chief

By Nafeesa Syeed, Bloomberg News

NASA scientists glean valuable data about powerful space explosions and the energy of black holes from their Swift and Fermi satellites. The projects were supposed to last a few years. Instead, they’ve survived for more than a decade.

That’s great for researchers but a challenge forJeanette Hanna-Ruizbecause of the projects’ aging computer operating systems. As the space agency’s chief information security officer, she has to secure the data sent to and from planet Earth against cyberattacks.

“It’s a matter of time before someone hacks into something in space,” Hanna-Ruiz, 44, said in an ...