Pentagon Computers Are Easy Prey for Hackers, GAO Warns

Hackers infiltrate Pentagon computers more than 160,000 times a year, threatening “catastrophic damage,” but the military rarely detects and seldom investigates the interlopers, government investigators said Wednesday.

“At a minimum, these attacks are a multimillion-dollar nuisance to Defense. At worst, they are a serious threat to national security,” the General Accounting Office said.

Citing Pentagon estimates, a GAO report says as many as 250,000 attempts may have been made to penetrate military computer networks last year, and 65%, or 162,500, were successful. But only about one in 150 was detected and reported.

The report, presented to a Senate subcommittee, dealt with the more than 90% of Pentagon data that is unclassified. It nevertheless could contain highly sensitive information on troop movements, procurement and maintenance of weapons systems.

Beyond young hackers who may have no criminal intent, about 120 countries already have or are developing computer attack capabilities. “In some extreme scenarios, studies show that terrorists or other adversaries could seize control of Defense information systems and seriously degrade the nation’s ability to deploy and sustain military forces,” the report says.

Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen said information on weapons systems and other classified material is secure.