Q&A: US defense hackers

Last Modified: 05 Sep 2007
By: Channel 4 News

The Pentagon on Tuesday said computer hackers had accessed a defence department network. But who's accusing whom of what?

What happened?

Late last spring Defense Department monitors detected the penetration of "elements of an unclassified e-mail system" located in the office of the secretary of defense.

Thanks to this security breach, the system was immediately taken off line and did not return to full operation for up to three weeks.

If it happened last spring, why is it news now?

The Pentagon is responding to claims made in the Financial Times newspaper, which quoted current and former US officials as saying that Chinese People's Liberation Army hackers broke into a Defense Department network in June and removed data.

Why Chinese hackers?

The Financial Times cited one source familiar with the Pentagon incident as saying there was a "very high level of confidence ... trending towards total certainty" that the Chinese army was behind it.

The Financial Times, citing former and serving US officials, said Chinese People's Liberation Army hackers from various locations in China had spent several months trying to tap into the system before breaching its cyber defences, forcing the Pentagon to shut down its network for more than a week.

The Financial Times report came a week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised similar claims that Chinese hackers had infected German government ministries with spying programs.

Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported last month that hackers believed to be linked to the Chinese army had gained access to Merkel's office and the German Foreign Ministry. China's Foreign Ministry denied that report as well.

They argue that Beijing has devoted a large part of its rising defense budget to developing more advanced technology, including computer capabilities.

How much of a threat did the breach pose?

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters that "there was never any threat to the classified systems."

"There was no disruption to (defense) operations or adverse impact to ongoing operations that the department was conducting ... all precautionary measures were taken and the system was restored to service," he said.

But the FT quoted a former US official as saying the PLA was now able to disrupt and even disable the Pentagon's computer system.

"The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system ... and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale," the former official told the newspaper.

The Financial Times reported that the Pentagon was investigating what data had been taken, and a source told the paper that most of it was probably unclassified.

What does China say?

China deflected the German reports, and now it has flatly rejected the U.S. claims, as well as denying reports that Chinese-made weapons have been used by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

"The Chinese government has consistently opposed and vigorously attacked according to the law all Internet-wrecking crimes, including hacking," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing.

"Some people are making wild accusations against China ... They are totally groundless and also reflect a Cold War mentality," she said.

Does the Pentagon think support the claim?

Whitman declined to comment on the hackers' suspected origins and other details of the incident. "It is often very difficult to pinpoint the true origin of a particular intrusion," Whitman said.

"Even if you have some degree of confidence in origin, attaching origin to - for example - a nation state or an authorized activity of a government, that's a wholly different kind of thing," he said.

Was this a one off?

No. Hackers attempt to probe the Pentagon's Global Information Grid hundreds of times a day, he said, adding that major incidents are turned over to US law enforcement and counterintelligence for investigation.

What does President Bush say?

President Bush is scheduled to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in Sydney while the two leaders are there for the APEC regional summit.

When asked about the Chinese hackers at a news conference in Australia today, George Bush gave a "long answer because," he said, "it's a complex relationship".

"I'm very aware that a lot of our systems are vulnerable to cyber attack from a variety of places. "In this instance, I don't have the intelligence at my fingertips right now ... if you have a relationship with a country, then you've got to respect the country's systems and knowledge base. And that's what we expect from people with whom we trade.

Our relationship with China is complex. On the one hand, we appreciate the opportunity to trade goods and services ... But do we agree on every issue? Not at all."

To read Bush's full response and his opinions on trade with China, click here.