NASA says it has discovered it's been selling computers used in the space shuttle program without ensuring they've been wiped of sensitive data.
An internal investigation by the space agency found 10 cases where PCs were sold despite failing data removal procedures, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Another four PCs about to be sold were found to contain data subject to export control by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the agency said.
The computers were being sold off as NASA prepares to end its space shuttle operations, with the last flight scheduled for June 2011.
NASA internal auditors discovered that agency procedures for confirming the erasure of data from PCs used in the shuttle program have not always been followed and that some PCs that had failed those verification tests were still being put up for sale.
Dozens of PCs at the Kennedy equipment disposal facility had external markings listing network details that could potentially provide hackers with "unauthorized access to NASA's internal computer network," the auditors' report said.
NASA says it will review and update its equipment disposal procedures.
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