Security News > 2020 > April > NASA Sees Increase in Cyberattacks During Coronavirus Outbreak
A memo sent out this week to all NASA personnel warns that the agency has seen a significant increase in cyberattacks, including phishing and malware attacks, while its employees work remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The memo, obtained by space news website SpaceRef, reveals that the number of email phishing attempts doubled in the past few days and there has been an "Exponential increase" in malware attacks on NASA systems.
Workers have been advised to be vigilant when using NASA systems and their personal devices as the volume of attacks will likely increase even further during the coronavirus crisis.
The memo instructs NASA personnel - in addition to being vigilant - to regularly visit a dedicated website with information related to working during the COVID-19 outbreak, use the NASA VPN for any work-related matters, avoid opening personal email or social media from NASA devices, ensure NASA devices always have the latest software updates and patches, encrypt emails containing sensitive information, and avoid including personal or financial information in emails.
NASA says roughly 75 percent of its workforce is currently working from home.