NASA has demonstrated that using a scanning and remediation program can turn the tide against hackers, according to a recent report.

The SANS Institute released its NASA case study to coincide with the Oct. 2 release of the top 20 security vulnerabilities in the Unix and Microsoft Corp. Windows environments.

In fact, the idea for the top 20 list came from NASA's efforts to tame the cyber beast, according to Alan Paller, research director at the institute. Although the space agency outsources its more than 80,000 desktop computers, which are spread among several facilities, it maintains responsibility for their security.

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