NASA failed to delete sensitive data on computers and hard drives before selling the equipment as the Space Shuttle program winds down, according to an audit released on Tuesday. NASA is getting rid of thousands of surplus items as it prepares to end the space shuttle program next year.

Tthe audit by the NASA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found “Serious” security breaches at four NASA facilities in Florida, Texas, California and Virginia: the Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers and the Ames and Langley Research Centers.

“Our review found serious breaches in NASA’s IT (information technology) security practices that could lead to the improper release of sensitive information related to the Space Shuttle and other NASA programs,” NASA Inspector General Paul Martin said in a statement.

According to the audit a total of 14 computers from the Kennedy Space Center failed tests to determine if they were sanitized of sensitive information, 10 of which already had been released to the public. It also found that hard drives were missing from Kennedy and from the Langley Research Center in Virginia. Some of the Kennedy hard drives were later found inside a dumpster, where they were being stored before sale, that was accessible to the public.

Investigators also found several pallets of computers being prepared for sale that were marked with NASA Internet Protocol addresses, which obviously could help hackers gain access to the NASA internal computer network.