Released: Feb 26, 1998
WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department takes seriously what its deputy secretary calls a "wake-up call" against the threat of computer hackers.
Talking with reporters Feb. 25, John J. Hamre said the department was on alert after it detected over several weeks "unusual activity" as people tried to gain access to military computer systems.
Hamre said classified systems were secure. However, some unclassified systems were penetrated.
"All of our classified systems are protected by fire walls," he said. "There are people that try [to penetrate systems] on a daily basis or are just fooling around. But, nobody has gotten past the classified fire walls."
Meanwhile, the deputy secretary said, "We have purchased the software appropriate to start putting fire walls around our unclassified systems, to buy the monitoring systems that we need so we know someone is trying to break in.
"We are forming a computer forensics capability in the department so that we can follow up on these matters. We've forged very close working ties with the FBI and Justice Department. So, we're taking all the steps I think we need to take."
Asked about who could be hacking the systems, Hamre said it was possible there was no evil intent, just someone playing, but "in some cases could be much more serious."
In any case, Hamre added, this was "a serious wake-up call. We are a society and an economy that's increasingly dependent on computers -- distributed systems. [Computers are] part of the power and the innovation in our economy.
"But it also opens a vulnerability. You have to take this as being serious for the implication that it holds for the future. In that sense we're taking [these incidents] very seriously."
For more about information protection and Air Force Computer Security Day, visit the Air Force's information protection web site at http://www.afca.scott.af.mil/information-protection.