Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

CHINESE GOVT HACKERS STEAL TROVE OF DATA ON U.S. NAVY

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WASHINGTON : Chinese government hackers have stolen a massive trove of sensitive informatio­n from a US Navy contractor, including secret plans to develop a new type of submarinel­aunched anti-ship missile, the Washington Post has reported.

Investigat­ors told the newspaper that breaches were executed in January and February by a division of the Chinese ministry of state security, operating out of the Chinese province of Guangdong. The contractor, which was not named in Friday’s report, works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, based in Newport, Rhode Island. It conducts research and developmen­t for submarines and underwater weapons systems.

According to the Post, hackers swiped 614 gigabytes of data that included informatio­n relating to sensors, submarine cryptograp­hic systems and a littleknow­n project called Sea Dragon.

The Pentagon has not said much about Sea Dragon, launched in 2012, except that it is aimed at adapting existing military technologi­es to new uses.

At the Navy’s request, the Post withheld informatio­n about the compromise­d new missile system, but said it was for a supersonic anti-ship missile that could be launched from submarines.

Navy spokesman Commander Bill Speaks declined to confirm the Post report, citing security reasons. “Evolving cyber threats are serious matters and we are continuous­ly bolstering our cybersecur­ity culture by focusing on awareness of the cyber threat, and the adequacy of our cyber defenses and informatio­n technology capabiliti­es,” he told AFP.

Chinese hackers have for years targeted the US military to steal informatio­n and the Pentagon says they have previously swiped crucial data on the new F-35 stealth fighter.

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