Large Hadron Collider Hacked

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Can someone please explain to me why ANY computer connected to the Hadron Collider project (or anything else of this magnitude) was accessible via the internet in the first place? Seriously.

The hackers were stopped before they could access the Collider's central computer system, but were described by the Telegraph as being "one step away" from full control of the CMS. They deleted one as-yet publicly unidentified file -- the hacker equivalent, perhaps, of counting coup.
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Gee, I've got a good idea. Let's set back the ENTIRE COURSE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION by potentially ruining the validity of an groundbreaking experiment.
 
I have to go with steve here, why in the holy hell was any computer that was hooked up to this thing given internet capabilities.
 
Sounds like to me, a group of terriosts wanted to hold the world hostage for a nice sum of money and if countries didn't comply, they would of power it up 100% and destroy the world with black holes.
 
Yup, I agree why? Seems like there were idiots on both ends of the connection to the Hadron computer connections (inside and outside).

I did see a Science Channel program about the LHC and they were seemed to be bragging about everything being unclassified, you could take pictures, etc. Maybe the theme when to their head.
 
Steve said:
Can someone please explain to me why ANY computer connected to the Hadron Collider project (or anything else of this magnitude) was accessible via the internet in the first place? Seriously.
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The why is because of the enormous amounts of data being generated by the LHC and then that data has to be shared out to the various Universities and Institutions simultaneously.

Simply put, there was no other way to do it.
As per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC_Computing_Grid
Code: 
The project is expected to generate 27 TB of raw data per day, plus 10 TB of "event summary data",
 
OMG H4X!

anotherworld03792981nr9.png
 
They have many many security systems and firewalls.
I'm wondering if this is sensationalism rather than fact.
They have been expecting determined hackers and releasing news like this will only spur the hackers on.
So maybe they have set up a honeypot for hackers to focus on instead?
 
Steve said:
Can someone please explain to me why ANY computer connected to the Hadron Collider project (or anything else of this magnitude) was accessible via the internet in the first place? Seriously.
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its the only way the american side can connect to their system.. since the american scientists that runs the older hadron have realtime feed between the new one to see everything their doing.. (sorry i just woke up.. so i cant remember the names of either hadrons) but thats probably how they were able to hack into the system..
 
Well according to that article the hackers wanted to show that there was a flaw (it said they left a note saying "We're pulling your pants down because we don't want to see you running around naked looking to hide yourselves when the panic comes") so perhaps they were just doing this to warn them that there are holes in their security, maybe they needed to take drastic measures instead of waiting for it to filter through the proper channels in order to get fixed? Or maybe they were just doing it to make a black hole that would DESTROY US ALL!!!!1
 
pxc said:
OMG H4X!
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OMG! I fuckin loved that game!

On the article: Damn! I mean I know they need the intarwebz to process the massive amount of data they are going to be collecting. But ya know you could maybe make sure said internet connections where secure? Oh well I really don't think they are going to destroy the world or anything with all this stuff. :confused:
 
And we all wondered why people though the world was going to end. I think they might want to pull the plug on this soon tbh, personally I don't wanna go into a black hole.
 
elite.mafia said:
And we all wondered why people though the world was going to end. I think they might want to pull the plug on this soon tbh, personally I don't wanna go into a black hole.
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Oh come on man! Maybe if we go through a black hole we will come out the other side where everything is the same except everything has slight purple tint and smells vaguely of cheese?
 
Not to drag this back into the whole black hole thing, But if this can create a black hole then there are hundreds or thousands above us all the time as much higher power collisions happen in the ionosphere, so even if it does we'll be fine. Also black holes are extremely powerful but can only have as wide of a gravity well as the matter that created it (I.E. if the moon created it on some random freak accident then it's gravity well would only be as wide as the moons gravity.)
 
homerjelly said:
Simply put, there was no other way to do it.
As per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC_Computing_Grid
Code: 
The project is expected to generate 27 TB of raw data per day, plus 10 TB of "event summary data",
Click to expand...

That is completely incorrect, there is another way to do it that is certainly better for security stand points when the project is of this magnitude. Years ago we had some systems at my employer that could generate x TB of data per day in raw image data for a government contract (that would later get processed). The new raw data had to be shared over the internet, though the actual processing and initial storage array was never (in theory) attached to the outside world hence we were fairly certain nothing would go fucked with unless someone was using a terminal located in the server room. Some poor IT person was responsible for disabling fiber connections, transferring files to something people could access, once the data was process to a much smaller size, they were wiping the arrays and re-attaching them throughout the day.
 
Lazy_Moron said:
Sounds like to me, a group of terriosts wanted to hold the world hostage for a nice sum of money and if countries didn't comply, they would of power it up 100% and destroy the world with black holes.
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800px-Dr_Evil.jpg


I demand the sum... OF 1 MILLION DOLLARS.
 
Or a well oiled and exacuted publicity event.

Are they saying that they upload 27 TB a day?

How do I get the advances in network speed at home? I can wait a few years for anti-grav.
 
DeathCloud said:
I have to go with steve here, why in the holy hell was any computer that was hooked up to this thing given internet capabilities.
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I would like to point out that they were "one step away" from controlling the SENSOR'S computer. They were no were near controlling the system itself. The sensor is connected to the internet to publish its data to various research labs throughout the world. What the hackers actually gained access to was the system that monitors the systems that monitor the sensors.

Cern relies on a 'defence-in-depth' strategy, separating control networks and using firewalls and complex passwords, to protect its control systems from malicious software, such as denial-of-service attacks, botnets and zombie machines, which can strike with a synchronised attack from hundreds of machines around the world.

However, there have been growing concerns about security as remote or wireless access, notebooks and USB sticks offer new possibilities for a virus or worms to enter the network, not to mention hackers and terrorists who might be interested in targeting computers to shutdown the system.
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More than 110 different control systems are used at Cern. These systems monitor, supervise and safeguard Cern's accelerators, experiments and infrastructure - from buildings, electricity and heating to access control, radiation protection and safety
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Sounds to me like CERN is trying as hard as they can to lock shit down.
 
homerjelly said:
The why is because of the enormous amounts of data being generated by the LHC and then that data has to be shared out to the various Universities and Institutions simultaneously.

Simply put, there was no other way to do it.
As per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC_Computing_Grid
Code: 
The project is expected to generate 27 TB of raw data per day, plus 10 TB of "event summary data",
Click to expand...

Adn you're telling me that a VPN can't solve that?

P.S> Sorry Hardforum but your vbulletin doesn't allow to edit. Delete the previous post.
 
Nenu said:
They have many many security systems and firewalls.
I'm wondering if this is sensationalism rather than fact.
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I have to agree. The claim that they were "one step" from the main controls by hacking their WEB PAGE is bullshit. They didn't spend billions on this thing, with hundreds of universities contributing, and NOT get a decently intelligent (or perhaps, simply not-braindead) IT manager.
 
I still don't see why the damn thing would be directly connected to the i-net. You would think there would be a way to separate the collider and it's systems from the internet. and still be able to transmit the data to the universities and such. Seriously putting any piece of hardware with that kind of value on the net is stupid.
 
I know CERN and if someone hacked into CERN we are in deep shit. Then again, part of the machine goes into France, I can see where the vulnerability is there.
 
Ok I feel the need to set some people straight since I've read up extensively on the LHC and what it can do (which btw, IT WILL NOT DESTROY THE WORLD and anybody thinks it will is a damn moron). In any case I happen to be a member of another forum where one of the forum members actually works on the LHC (well one of the experiments) and he had this to say about the hacking:

To a certain extent, true. The 'LHC' didn't get hacked, a single user-level computer account was accessed which only had access to a monitoring webpage for the CMS experiment.

The network on which the experiments and accelerator run is entirely seperate to that of the accessible network from outside CERN. The experiments and data they produce are far too critical to be sitting on an open network. You cannot access any of the computers in the control rooms or experiment caverns remotely, and they all only permit outbound connections.

The hack was a pretty typical webpage defacement, and while embarrasing for the CMS, it isn't a big deal. There are 10,000+ user accounts at cern, and users will always lose passwords or use insecure ones in any computing environment. The sheer number of accounts at cern makes it a statistical certainty that one or two will be compromised, and the computing division is prepared for this.
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Now repeat after me, THE LHC WILL NOT...no...CAN NOT DESTROY THE WORLD!
 
So basically once you start reading into it further, the story is just sensationalism from Wired magazine. The hackers got their name out there but in actual fact they didn't do anything that impressive.
 
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