US government contractor Exigent Software Technology has admitted that unidentified hackers broke into a restricted military computer system and stole the source codes controlling satellite and missile guidance systems.
Network IT Week, 15 Mar 2001
US government contractor Exigent Software Technology has admitted that unidentified hackers broke into a restricted military computer system and stole the source codes controlling satellite and missile guidance systems.
Hackers got away with two thirds of the code when the target computer at the Naval Research Lab in Washington was attacked on Christmas Eve. The military detected the break-in three days later.
The theft was made public when Swedish police searched the servers of internet service provider Carbonide on suspicion that hackers used the company's Freebox Web email service to distribute the code to others.
Carbonide chief executive Eric Wickborn said: "We didn't know it was there, and we didn't know it was source code. Immediately after the search we deleted the code." He added that law enforcement officials could fit the data onto a single floppy disk.
Wickborn said that although the hacker used the name 'Leeif' on the system, the account was stolen. Carbonide was able to trace the attack on its network to a server at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany.
The German federal office for criminal affairs said that an investigation is underway. Kaiserslautern is home to several US military installations, including Ramstein Air Force Base.
Exigent developed the OS/Comet program for the US Air Force which uses it on the Navstar Global Positioning System at the Colorado Springs Monitor Station, part of the Air Force Space Command.
The FBI downplayed the attack, however, saying the software was unclassified. Spokesman Chris Murray said the code was secret when first used but is now available commercially.
Also published in Network News
Robin Bloor, leading light at Bloor Research, warns that hackers are getting smarter, and that the threat to security has never been greater.
Less than a day after the British government was left red-faced after hackers defaced websites including that of the e-envoy Andrew Pinder, two more government servers were hacked, but this time by different intruders.
UK government websites have been the latest targets in a series of attacks by a hacking group known as PoizonB0x.
The emerging world of wireless connectivity presents multiple security threats to corporate IT infrastructures, says researcher Gartner. But the silver lining in this particular cloud is that wireless systems are inherently robust, reducing the scope for Denial of Service attacks.
How web services contribute to data headaches
Remote access - Three steps to getting connected
3.4 million UK professionals now work from home – is your company equipped?
Cost benefits of a global collaboration network
This white paper is a must read for organisations looking for evidence of the bottom-line benefits of high-definition video and voice communications
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.
Chris Adams, Office Client product manager for Microsoft UK, explains...
Critics says government proposals to curb illegal downloading are unworkable...
Do you agree?
Have your say on this article