Posted on 10/06/2006 1:51:24 PM PDT by Donna Lee Nardo
Chinese computer hackers target US Commerce Department
Oct 06 2:41 PM US/Eastern
via AFP
Computer hackers based in China have launched sustained attacks on the computers of a US Commerce Department technology export office, a department official said. The official, who requested anonymity, said the attacks had originated from websites registered with Chinese Internet service providers.
Chinese-based hackers, especially in the Chinese province of Guangdong, have mounted systematic efforts to penetrate US government and industry computer networks in order to access secret information, according to computer security experts.
The experts and some US lawmakers believe the attacks are sanctioned by Chinese government agencies.
The attacks on the Commerce Department have been so persistent that the affected office, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), has been forced to replace hundreds of computers and set up a new computer system.
The bureau's work is sensitive because it supervises US exports of software and technology for commercial and military uses, as well as commodities.
"BIS discovered a targetted effort to gain access to BIS user accounts," said Richard Mills, a Commerce Department spokesman, without commenting on the origin of the attacks.
"They took a series of immediate action steps to ensure that no BIS data is compromised. We have no evidence that any BIS data has been lost or compromised," Mills said.
Department officials are concerned about the hacking attacks because the bureau retains sensitive commercial and economic information on US exporters as well as data related to law enforcement records.
In a bid to ramp up security, the bureau has restricted employees' Internet access to stand alone computers that are not linked to the bureau's network.
In May, the US government, citing a potential security risk, stopped plans by the State Department to install 16,000 computers manufactured by the Chinese firm Lenovo.
The government squashed the deal with Lenovo after US lawmakers raised opposition to the plan on national security grounds.
"In May, the US government, citing a potential security risk, stopped plans by the State Department to install 16,000 computers manufactured by the Chinese firm Lenovo.
The government squashed the deal with Lenovo after US lawmakers raised opposition to the plan on national security grounds."
Also note related FR thread here
The stupid state department, mind you.
...and just about every other computer connected to the net in the US.....
Yes, but my point is that the state department has no problem having Red China supply the computers for the Commerce Dept.
Some things never change...
Sounds like it's time to drop an EMP on Guangdong.
Besides the security threat why didn't they give the job to one of our computer companies?
The Red Chinese are wasting their talants hacking into the State Department's computers. All they have to do is get one of State's offcials to take home a lap top so it can be "stolen."
But I hope they do get into State's computers. Maybe they will then be as screwed up as our State Department who sends women to deal with Arabs..
In the realm of computer network attack capabilities, we are nearing a situation with China that is analogous to the mutually assured destruction impasse that we had with the Soviets.
I hope that we are letting our hackers go at them.
There are no better.
Or are we caving again, to please state?
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