Chinese Hackers in Possession of U.S. Weapons Secrets, Report Reveals – ‘Vulnerable’ Department of Defense Technology a Problem, Report Indicates

Chinese hackers have compromised the designs of multiple major U.S. weapons systems, according to a confidential report prepared for the Pentagon.

More than 24 major weapons systems used in U.S. missile systems as well as fighter planes and ships were accessed by hackers, the report, first obtained by The Washington Post, indicated.

The report said the data obtained by hackers not only gives China access to advanced technology, it also undermines any military advantage the U.S. could have in battle.

Some of the designs in the hands of hackers are: an advanced Patriot missile system as well as those for the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, estimated to cost about $1.4 trillion, the Post reported.

It was not stated when the security breaches occurred or if the hackers had targeted the government or independent contractors.

The public version of the report, ‘Resilient Military Systems and the Advanced Cyber Threat,’ described the cyber-threat as “serious,” comparing it to “the nuclear threat of the Cold War.”

“The United States cannot be confident that our critical Information Technology (IT) systems will work under attack from a sophisticated and well-resourced opponent utilizing cyber capabilities in combination with all of their military and intelligence capabilities,” the report said. “This Task Force strongly believes the DoD needs to take the lead and build an effective response to measurably increase confidence in the IT systems we depend on (public and private) and at the same time decrease a would-be attacker’s confidence in the effectiveness of their capabilities to compromise DoD systems.”

“DoD’s dependence on this vulnerable technology is a magnet to U.S. opponents,” the report continued. “In fact, DoD and its contractor base have already sustained staggering losses of system design information incorporating decades of combat knowledge and experience that provide adversaries insight to technical designs and system use. Despite numerous DoD actions, efforts are fragmented and the department is not currently prepared to effectively mitigate this threat.”

This is not the first report to point the finger squarely at China.

An 83-page report from the office of the Secretary of Defense, which was presented to Congress May 6, indicated a unit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, at the behest of the Chinese government, used it IO systems as a tool last year to continually steal information about the foreign policy and military goals of the U.S.

A report released by Verizon last month revealed that 96 percent of all espionage cases in 2012 “were attributed to threat actors in China,” while security firm Mandient, in a 74-page report in February, accused a unit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army of launching thousands of hacking attacks against U.S. companies and defense contractors since 2006.

China has denied any knowledge of the ongoing hacking incidents, calling the accusations “irresponsible.” The Chinese also maintain that U.S. hackers are targeting them.

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Chinese Hackers in Possession of U.S. Weapons Secrets, Report Reveals

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