This hacker hacked NASA & boasted about it on social media — but the space agency's response is more shocking

Even NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - the U.S. government's civil space agency, isn't safe from cyber threats in today's digital age. However, when a hacker recently breached the space agency's systems, they were met with a surprising and unexpected response from NASA itself.

The self-proclaimed hacker proudly announced on X, "I hacked @NASA (again)."

Extremely gutsy of him to announce a hacking on social media, right, given that hacking is a crime in the United States and could include imprisonment?

Well turns out this wasn't your typical malicious attack—he revealed that he reported the vulnerabilities directly to NASA.?

In an unexpected turn, the space agency didn't just fix the issues, they praised him!

"Just today, I received this appreciation letter from them after they patched the loopholes!" he shared.

Well, truly a memory for a lifetime.

NASA commended the hacker, referring to him as an "independent security researcher," for uncovering the vulnerability.

The letter further acknowledged, "The ability to detect and report on security vulnerabilities is a valuable skill in the information security industry. Your reporting has facilitated NASA’s awareness of otherwise unknown vulnerabilities and helped us protect the integrity and availability of NASA information.”

The ethical hacker revealed that he successfully hacked NASA and reported the vulnerabilities through the agency's Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP).?

A VDP is a formal process that allows individuals to report digital security issues to an organisation.?

By utilising VDPs, companies and agencies like NASA can proactively identify and fix weaknesses in their systems, reducing the risk of potential security breaches.

How did people respond?

Credit: NASA | The NASA logo

The top comment on the post humorously reads, "They didn't even give you a 'I hacked NASA and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt' Shirt?"

Another user, surprised that hacking NASA isn't just an internet joke, commented, "So hacking NASA is not just a meme haha, great job."

Meanwhile, others praised the hacker's efforts, with one writing, "Excellent work mate. It's hackers like you that make infrastructure safer for everyone, and even more so when the entities affected acknowledge you weren't doing it for malice, instead you were doing it to make things better."

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