The commander of the U.S. Cyber Command told Congress on Thursday that the military is not ready for a major cyber war and that they need to bolster their defenses both for military infrastructure and private business.
“Those attacks are coming and I think those are near term and we’re not ready for them,” said Army Gen. Keith Alexander. Alexander is also the outgoing director of the National Security Agency.
Alexander told congressmen that the Cyber Command’s 1,100 employees are making progress but are still not ready for a major assault. Alexander said that attackers are changing plans from short term disruptions to attacks that would cause long lasting damage to critical systems including destruction of machines.
The most major concerns are attacks on the nation’s power supplies or economic systems. As an example, Alexander mentioned the harm that could be caused should a hacker break into the New York Stock Exchange and destroy their systems.
“While we have increased our own cyber capabilities, the worldwide cyber threat is growing in scale and sophistication, with an increasing number of state and non-state actors targeting U.S. networks on a daily basis,” Admiral Cecil Haney of the U.S. Strategic Command told Congress.
South Korea is developing cyber-weapons similar to those used by western governments in their battle against North Korea.
The country’s defense ministry said it is seeking weapons similar to the Stuxnet virus, which infiltrated and damaged Iranian nuclear plants. The South Korean military will carry out missions using the new software. The missions are believed to be focused entirely on North Korea but the information given to the BBC did not specify that.
The Defense Ministry reportedly told the government their plans to use cyberweapons this week.
The cyberweapons are believed to be a response by the South to North Korea’s continued testing of nuclear weapons and missiles. The overall plan by South Korea included using social media and networking for a propaganda campaign against the North.
Computer security experts said they’re concerned about the South Korean plan because it’s impossible to control a virus once it’s been released.
A new report released by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is showing some shocking revelations about the security of Federal agencies, databases and websites.
The report found that almost 40 percent of breaches in security go undetected by security officials and systems.
“[The report] highlights serious vulnerabilities in the government’s efforts to protect its own civilian computers and networks,” Coburn said.
The report shows that nearly every agency has faced some kind of undetected event from the U.S. Copyright Office to the Department of Homeland Security. Even agencies that don’t seem to be major targets like the National Weather Service or NASA faced major breaches.
An example of one attack was hackers breaking into the national Emergency Alert System in February 2013 sending out a “Zombie Attack Warning” in Midwestern states.
“Civil authorities in your area have reported the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living,” the hackers sent out before being cut off. “Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous.”
The report says that hackers could enter databases regarding U.S. dams that showed which were the weakest or had security problems making them vulnerable to attack. One of the hackers obtained the technology map running the New York Stock Exchange.
The report was based on studies from 40 different audits.
The Washington Post released a report that says Chinese hackers have broken into some of the most sensitive designs for new military technology.
The information taken by the hackers could give China a significant advantage in any conflict with the United States. Continue reading →
A U.S. report on cyber-terrorism and cyber-warfare says that China’s government and military have been behind multiple assaults on U.S. computer systems.
The attacks were on the diplomatic, economic and defense sectors. The targets all had some kind of benefit to China’s defense program. Continue reading →
A top Chinese general, who has repeatedly denied the Chinese military is behind multiple cyber-attacks against the United States, has admitted during a public event that cyber-attacks are as serious as nuclear weapons.
General Fang Fenghui made his comments after meeting with the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Continue reading →
South Korean investigators have released a report showing that the massive cyber-attacks on television stations and banks was the work of North Korea.
Investigators said they discovered pieces of the code that were an identical match to code in malware previously connected to North Korean spies. In addition to the malware, 22 of the IP addresses were identified as being used by North Korea in previous attacks. Continue reading →
The U.S. Air Force has officially designated six cyberweapons meaning that cyberwar now has codified definition.
The move was meant to give the Air Force Space Command, which controls satellite and cyberspace for the military, an opportunity to fight for additional funding in the budget. However, critics say the move could open up waves of problems for the government and private businesses. Continue reading →
Broadcasters and banks in South Korea were virtually shut down on Wednesday due to a massive computer attack.
Government officials said the same “malicious code” was behind the attacks. Two banks and three television stations all had their computer networks shut down at the same time Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading →
The Department of Homeland Security has released a report showing that 23 gas pipeline companies were hit by cyberterrorists in the first six months of 2012.
The attacks were launched by sending emails designed to trick high level managers into opening attachments to emails that would infect the company systems with a virus. It allowed the hackers to get into sensitive parts of the company’s network including systems that control the flow of gas. Continue reading →