First published: 31st August 2008
NASA has admitted that a worm, W32.Gammima.AG, has been found on laptops on the International Space Station. NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries downplayed the incident, saying, "This is not the first time we have had a worm or a virus. It's not a frequent occurrence, but this isn't the first time", but did not say whether previous incidents were in space. As most laptops on the ISS are reported to not have anti-virus protection then the number of previous incidents in space must be very small. It is assumed that the virus was either in the initial software load, or introduced on removable media. The ISS does not have a direct internet connection, though email is transferred though a "KU band data link". The infected laptops were used for non-mission tasks, command and control systems were unaffected.
Whether or not this is the first computer virus in space (the film "Independence Day" notwithstanding), it highlights the importance of Defence in Depth, even (especially!) for systems considered "isolated".