Pentagon Networks Threatened by Cyber Attack…The Dangers of Outsourcing Security

[The Straight Story]

Pentagon Networks Threatened by Cyber Attack…The Dangers of Outsourcing Security


Information systems at the Department of Defense may be vulnerable to cyber attacks now that a company it relies on for password-protected networks was itself a victim of hackers.

RSA, maker of the widely sold SecurID authentication system that protects computer logins, had information stolen by an “extremely sophisticated” intrusion from outside the company. While the compromised data alone won’t allow hackers to breach other systems using SecurID, it could be used with other information to successfully attack networks that rely on RSA, like those of the Pentagon.

Joel Brenner, national counterintelligence executive during the Bush administration, was alarmed by the news. “It’s a flanking attack—not a direct attack to steal information—but an attack to steal the keys that unlock a lot of people’s information,” he told Stars and Stripes. “I don’t think the public understands yet how grave this attack is. It ranks up there with the worst we’ve seen.”

http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Pentagon_Networks_Threatened_by_Cyber_Attack__The_Dangers_of_Outsourcing_Security_110401