[Mb-civic] Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites
U.S. Agencies' Networks Are Among Targets

By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 25, 2005; Page A01

Web sites in China are being used heavily to target computer networks in 
the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies, successfully breaching 
hundreds of unclassified networks, according to several U.S. officials.

Classified systems have not been compromised, the officials added. But 
U.S. authorities remain concerned because, as one official said, even 
seemingly innocuous information, when pulled together from various 
sources, can yield useful intelligence to an adversary.

"The scope of this thing is surprisingly big," said one of four 
government officials who spoke separately about the incidents, which 
stretch back as far as two or three years and have been code-named Titan 
Rain by U.S. investigators. All officials insisted on anonymity, given 
the sensitivity of the matter.

Whether the attacks constitute a coordinated Chinese government campaign 
to penetrate U.S. networks and spy on government databanks has divided 
U.S. analysts. Some in the Pentagon are said to be convinced of official 
Chinese involvement; others see the electronic probing as the work of 
other hackers simply using Chinese networks to disguise the origins of 
the attacks.

"It's not just the Defense Department but a wide variety of networks 
that have been hit," including the departments of State, Energy and 
Homeland Security as well as defense contractors, the official said. 
"This is an ongoing, organized attempt to siphon off information from 
our unclassified systems."

Another official, however, cautioned against exaggerating the severity 
of the intrusions. He said the attacks, while constituting "a large 
volume," were "not the biggest thing going on out there."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/24/AR2005082402318.html?referrer=email
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