News

NordPass and NordStellar reviewed terabytes of dataThe analysis uncovered poor password practices in the healthcare industryOrganizations are lacking staff training and strong policiesHygiene in hospitals and clinics is essential, but cyber-hygiene - despite being equally important - is constantly being neglected, experts have warned.A report from NordPass and NordStellar has claimed weak password practices are “dangerously common” in the healthcare industry.Based on a review of 2.5TB of data extracted from various publicly available sources (including the dark web), the two organizations found that different medical institutions, including private clinics and hospital networks, all rely on “predictable, recycled, or default passwords” to protect critical systems. As a result, sensitive patient data, and possibly their health, is placed at immense risk.Carelessness“When the systems protecting patient data are guarded by passwords like ‘123456’ or ‘P@ssw0rd,’ that’s a critical failure in cybersecurity hygiene. In a sector where both privacy and uptime are vital, this kind of carelessness can have real consequences,” said Karolis Arbaciauskas, head of business product at NordPass.The report also lists the most frequently used passwords identified in the healthcare sector. If you’re using any of these (or a variant), make sure to change them for something tougher to crack:fabrizio19123456Melu3@12345@Vow2017Mercury9.Venus8passwordMarty1508!Carlton@198812345678@Vowcomm2018papa12345Durson@123P@ssw0rdSimetricaRaffin2209!Asspain28#SmithneurodefaultPolicies and trainingThe teams warn passwords that reflect personal names, simple number patterns, or default configurations, are all prime targets for brute-force and dictionary attacks, in which cybercriminals automate the process, and try out countless combinations until they break in.To make matters even worse - one break-in is more than enough to wreak havoc, as lateral movement can compromise entire networks, expose sensitive data, and result in different malware and ransomware infections.The report stresses that healthcare institutions “lack clear password management policies or staff training,” which is why they are recommended to enforce strong password policies, eliminate the use of default or role-specific passwords, use a business-grade password manager, train the staff, and introduce 2FA wherever possible.You might also likeMajor data breach at healthcare giant Yale Health affects 5.5 million people - here's what we knowTake a look at our guide to the best authenticator appWe've rounded up the best password managers

NASA is shutting down several social media accounts run by the Science Mission Directorate, including the official Mars Curiosity Rover account on X. The organization says it made the decision in order to "make its work more accessible to the public, avoiding the potential for oversaturation or confusion."

The "social media consolidation project" is concentrated in part on X, where there are dozens NASA accounts affiliated with specific missions and areas of research. So far 29 accounts are being archived or consolidated with other accounts, including @MarsCuriosity and @NASAPersevere, the two accounts for the organization's Mars rovers. Posts about both missions will now come from the more general @NASAMars. Some social media accounts will also "rebranded to better align with the new strategic framework," NASA says, "reflecting a broader scope or a more direct connection to core NASA initiatives."

With "over 400 individual accounts across 15 platforms" it's not exactly unreasonable that NASA is trying to streamline things, but there is some much appreciated specificity lost when news and information is coming from a more general account. NASA's Curiosity is beloved and the agency's research into Mars was likely more well-known because the social media account made identifying with the rover easier.

Beyond social media accounts, NASA could be heading into next year with far fewer resources in general. The Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget includes around a $6 billion cut to NASA's funding. The limited resources could lead to multiple planned missions being cancelled The Washington Post reports, including sending a probe to Venus, taking mineral samples from asteroids and studying gravitational waves with the European Space Agency.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-is-shutting-down-some-official-social-media-accounts-including-the-curiosity-rovers-handle-192016918.html?src=rss