WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Foreign enemies may have targeted computer networks on at least 15 bases in more than 60 attacks in the last 11 months, an Army official said.
"Our belief is their motivation in Category 1 and Category 2 intrusions is to enable a foreign adversary to deny our president, Joint Chiefs of Staff (and military services) that network-centric warfare option," said Thomas Reardon, chief of the intelligence division with Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command, according to Government Computer News Thursday. "If we are going to bet the farm on network-centric operations and we allow those kinds of intrusions to persist, we're putting it all at risk."
The infamous "Solar Sunrise" computer attack in 1998 that compromised unclassified military networks at least 11 bases was initially assumed to be an adversarial attack from a terrorist group or nation. It was later determined to be carried out by three teenagers - one in Israel and two in Cloverdale, Calif.
Whomever the perpetrator, the message is the same: military computers are vulnerable to wily attackers and are frequently left unprotected by systems administrators who do not install security patches for known vulnerabilities. That was the cause of much of the vulnerability exploited in the Solar Sunrise attack.
The military increasingly relies on Web-based technologies to exchange battle information, track troop movements and carry out other vital functions.
