US military computers successfully attacked

Cyber attacks on military networks have increased

A cyber attack in 2008 was the "most significant breach ever" of the US military network according to deputy defence secretary William Lynn.

The attack started when a flash drive infected by malware was inserted into a US military laptop at a base in the Middle East.

"The flash drive's malicious computer code, placed there by a foreign intelligence agency, uploaded itself onto a network run by the US Central Command," wrote Lynn in US-based Foreign Affairs magazine.

"That code spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems, establishing what amounted to a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control. It was a network administrator's worst fear: a rogue program operating silently, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an unknown adversary."

Lynn went on to explain that the frequency and sophistication of intrusions into US military networks have increased exponentially over the past decade. US military and civilian networks are probed thousands of times and scanned millions of times daily. The 2008 intrusion was not the only successful penetration, and thousands of files from US networks have been stolen including weapons blueprints, operational plans and surveillance data.

The Pentagon has more recently implemented stronger defences around military networks and inaugurated the US Cyber Command to integrate cyberdefense operations across the military, Lynn concluded.