Based on reports coming from the Washington Post, claims that a secret section of a report devised by the Defense Science Board for the Pentagon, the designs for more than two dozen advanced US weapons systems were accessed by Chinese hackers. In January, the advisory panel warned in the public version of its report that the Pentagon is unprepared to counter a full-scale cyber-conflict.
“DoD is not prepared to defend against this threat” and that “with present capabilities and technology it is not possible to defend with confidence against the most sophisticated cyber attacks”
The more Alraming bit is the confidential portion of the document it contains a list of weapons systems that includes the F-35, information related to drones and “electronic warfare,” and even US missile defense systems. It’s not known exactly when the attacks occurred nor how much information about the weapons systems was taken, but the information could give China a jump start in developing advanced weapons systems of its own.
The reports of the attacks put a finer point on Obama administration’s response to Chinese hacking— as recently as last month a wide array of options were still on the table.
source:Washington Post
