WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. officials and security experts warned that cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to attack military and government computers.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security statistics showed that 37,000 attempted breaches of government and private computer systems were reported in fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 30, marking a dramatic increase from the 24,000 reported in 2006, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Monday.
Cyberattacks against federal agencies rose 152 percent during the same time period, from 5,143 to 12,986.
"We're vulnerable every day," Greg Garcia, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees cyberprotection for the federal government and private systems, told the Star-Telegram. "Everybody is seeing some form of intrusion or attack."
A Government Accountability Office report said in September that command-and-control systems that run nearly the entire public infrastructure, including banking and utility systems, face "increasing risks" and "are more vulnerable to cyberattacks than in the past."
The report said terrorists may become a larger threat on the cyberbattleground as younger, more tech-savvy recruits join the organizations.
