Pentagon Hit by Unprecedented Cyber Attack

FoxNews ^ | 11/20/08

[Swordmaker]

Well, when Apple becomes more popular and used than Windows it will be the target of hackers. The most popular kid on the block always wants to be taken down by others.

There are now over 32,000,000 Macs in use around the world. When will we reach the magic number that will result in ONE viable self-replicating, self-transmitting computer virus that infects OS X Macs? When will Macs attract the attention of your hackers???

Keep in mind that the Witty Worm was written to infect vulnerable computers using Black Ice firewalls six months AFTER a patch was distributed to fix the vulnerability. The total number of potential vulnerable computers was just around 10,000. Every single one of them was infected 45 minutes after the Witty Worm was released into the wild. Why hasn't anyone written a Witty Worm for OS X Macs? Could it be that the architecture of the OS is far more secure than is Windows?

[Swordmaker]

You know, I've owned both G3s and G4s, plus G5s, and Intel Macs, and I've managed networks of assorted Macs, and not once have I had an overheating problem with any of them... and that was using them for some fairly intense computing with fairly high CPU involvement.

The G4 Mac Cube was designed without a cooling fan and worked fine without them.

There were some problems with heat on some first edition laptops in both the G3 and G4 but it wasn't generally related to any crashing... just hot laps. i did not experience this either—primarily because I didn't purchase any of those first edition laptops.

[leapfrog0202]

Military computers drastically limit which websites can be accessed and most emails with attachments not coming from another military email or contractor’s email are not delivered.

Most likely this was brought in on someone’s thumb drive as something they downloaded at home is the theory I’ve heard around here.

As for thumb drives and other externals, many offices purchase them for their senior mgmt as a way for them to work at home w/o having to take the laptop home. Much more can be lost if a laptop is misplaced or stolen.

[big'ol_freeper]

LOL..sorry. Here you go:

The Company

[Munz]

we are so screwed.

[rightwingextremist1776]

Or one that was left in a break room or meeting room... "Oh someone lost a thumb drive, let's plug it in and see if we can figure out who it belongs to". The best way to compromise a network is by using human engineering....

[snowrip]

Chilling thought. I hope we are sending back just what they are dishing out, in spades.

My fear is that we are woefully unprepared for Chinese cyber attacks. The Chinese see it as an indispensible part of asymmetrical warfare strategy, and I'm beginning to think that this is one area where they are years ahead of us.

However, I still hang on to one shred of hope: the utter cloak of silence around US network warfare may mean that they are treating it as the modern-day Manhattan Project.

[ShadowAce]

[snowrip]

Bingo.

I have worked on/owned Macs for nearly twenty years. I have never once had an issue with viruses, spyware, Trojan Horses, etc.

I also have had three Windows-based laptops for my other job. They are constantly alerting me to all of the above. I also have a semi-annual scrubbing done by our tech guys; they always find THs and viruses that my top-o-the-line security software does not.

I’m not a software engineer, but I know what works.

[FreedomOfExpression]

They'd be better off banning the use of Windows.

That is a very profound statement, and true statement. DoD already has moved toward Apple servers. They should adopt Mac desktops and laptops also. Our troops deserve the best.

Don't believe the hype.
I was reading a report on a Linux site that told of how at a recent security conference, the Mac was the first OS to be taken over using "known vulnerabilities" in browsers. The PC was second, and Linux wasn't taken over at all during the 3 days, but the report stressed that ALL OS are vulnerable to attacks targeting browsers.

[savedbygrace]

They misrepresented that event in tooting their own horn.

The Mac was breached only after the ‘user’ clicked on a link to a malicious site. Before that, some of the normal protections afforded by the Mac and the OS were intentionally compromised by the ‘user’.

I’ve used many Apple computers for years, and I am tech support for dozens of clients (over the years, probably hundreds of Apple computers), and I have never experienced, or heard from my clients that they experienced, any take-over of an Apple computer.

In the wild, it just doesn’t happen. To make it happen in a demonstration project, the user has to first do several stupid things to allow it to happen.

[elc]

If it’s a gov’t issued thumb drive they are allowed to be hooked up to unclass computers, even in a classified office. Well at least until this week. All thumb drives must be turned in immediately.

[pas]

Let’s see.....who could have done this?

Does it start with a c and end with an a?

Canada I knew it. Or was it Cambodia? Maybe it was Cuba.

[liberte]

Unbelievable. The freaking DOD did not secure their computers by disabling the USB ports? I only work in insurance, and my company has been doing that for a couple of years. Who the #@#$%&! is running that place?

[antiRepublicrat]

The DOD should have all sensitive computers off of the grid

Everything classified is. But the military does work with a lot of unclassified systems, and those are for the most part plugged in to the Internet, although with a LOT of security hardware in between.

[antiRepublicrat]

We used them in my area for a few years and got rid of them by the end of 2004.

Well, there's your problem right there. If you were using it for a few years prior to 2004, that would mean you were running 10.0-10.3. You have to go to 10.4 in 2005 (after you lost your Macs) to get the first truly good version of OS X. And unless you were on a G5, you were using the PPC 7 series, which was seriously showing its age around that time compared to Intel/AMD. Five year-old experiences with Macs are mostly meaningless.

All new computers are loaded with Vista. They’d be better loading legacy Win XP, but you can’t buy it anymore.

The DoD can still load as much XP as it wants under its enterprise licenses.

[GOPJ]

The solution, ultimately, is to revert to Cold War thinking: for secure comm in the 80’s, I remember that it used to be a requirement for DoD projects that the devices come from certified US companies in US plants, especially CPU’s and any device that created EM emissions.

Good point.

[zeugma]

You're right. They would be better off running Linux.

LOL. I really wasn't going to specify, but yeah, Linux would be my choice. OSX is good too. as long as you don't mind DRM-enabled operating systems.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I’ve not experienced any problems with the imac that weren’t of my own doing. I am still learning how to use my mac, but I absolutely love turning it on and it’s ready to go. I also love not having to wait for all the Windows updates and virus scans every day.

And of course now dh has purchased us iPhones, so here I go again, trying to learn how to use it. It’s been pretty simple, even for me. I just want to learn how to make my own ringtones on Garage Band or find somewhere that’s free.

I’ve rarely met a person who has not loved the mac once they vowed to give it a try.

[LibertyRocks]

My theory (in case you’re interested, lol)...

The Jihadists are simply the “military branch” of the real war we are fighting here. Add Russia to China, and then you’re starting to get a clearer picture I believe. We are in a World War against the Communists & their Muslim allies, it’s all a matter of reading between the lines at this point though. Very few people - and most definitely not the media - speak to the real dangers, and real problems our country is facing right now. It’s a real shame because if people knew the truth I highly doubt they would’ve elected a Freshman Senator to deal with these problems no matter how much they “hated” Bush.