A computer hacker penetrated the Pentagon鈥檚 email system on Thursday, prompting authorities to take up to 1500 accounts offline, defence officials reveal.
鈥淓lements of the [Office of the Secretary of Defense鈥檚] unclassified email system were taken offline yesterday afternoon due to a detected penetration,鈥� US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. 鈥淎 variety of precautionary measures are being taken. We expect the system to be online again very soon.鈥�
On 20 June, a congressional panel disclosed that hackers have also succeeded in penetrating computers at the Department of Homeland Security, the government agency charged with providing security against cyber attack.
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鈥淲hat does this mean? It means terrorists or nation states could be hacking Department of Homeland Security databases, changing or altering names to allow them access to this country, and we wouldn鈥檛 even know they were doing it,鈥� says Democratic congressman James Langevin.
Constant attack
However, the Pentagon email system carries 鈥渞outine email鈥� involving administrative matters, but not classified information related to military operations, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Gary Keck says.
Gates adds that the Defense Department computers are under constant attack, but he could not say why this attack, unlike others, forced authorities to take down part of the system.
Pentagon officials would not comment on the source of the attack, or whether the hacker was able to read email sent over the system.
鈥淲e obviously have redundant systems in place, and there is no anticipated adverse impact on ongoing operations,鈥� Gates says. 鈥淭here will be some administrative disruptions and personal inconveniences.
鈥淲e aggressively monitor intrusions and have appropriate procedures to address events of this kind. But, we get hundreds of attacks a day.鈥�
