Pentagon hit by huge cyber attack

The deputy defence secretary said future cyber attacks could even cause deaths

 

The Pentagon has admitted it suffered a major cyber attack in which thousands of files were taken by foreign hackers.

Deputy Defence Secretary William Lynn said that in a March attack and other breaches, hackers had taken information on “our most sensitive systems”.


 The admission came as the Pentagon rolled out a strategy for strengthening US cyber capabilities and addressing threats and attacks in cyberspace.

The plan would treat cyberspace in a similar manner to land, air and sea.

“In the 21st Century, bits and bytes can be as threatening as bullets and bombs,” Mr Lynn said, unveiling the plan.

In a speech at National Defense University in Washington, Mr Lynn said about 24,000 files containing Pentagon data were stolen from a defence industry computer network in March, marking one of the largest cyber attacks in US history.
Extracting files
He said at least one attack – a previously revealed 2008 penetration of classified computer systems – had come from a foreign intelligence service, and in an interview ahead of the speech said the Pentagon believed the March attack had been perpetrated by a foreign government.
Previous cyber attacks have been blamed on China or Russia.