Hackers breach defences of joint strike fighter jet programme

Hackers breach defenses of joint strike fighter jet program

Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 April 2009 16.21 BST

Computer hackers have breached the cyber defenses of an advanced US fighter jet programme, stealing data on the plane's design and electronics systems.

The attacks on the Joint Strike Fighter project, reported in the Wall Street Journal this morning, also pose a potential security threat to Britain, which has contributed £2bn to develop the craft and plans to purchase three planes for testing.

Former US officials told the Wall Street Journal the attacks appeared to stem from China but their origin could have been disguised. While the spies made off with several terabytes of data (a typical CD-ROM holds between 650-900 megabytes, and a megabyte is one one-millionth of a terabyte) on a system that diagnoses the plane's in-flight maintenance problems, information about the plane's flight control systems and sensors are stored on a computer that is physically separate from the internet, the Journal reported. The attacks appeared to have occurred in 2007 and 2008.

The joint strike fighter is being developed for the US air force by contractor Lockheed Martin. The project, which began in 2001, has cost the Pentagon $300bn to produce, making it the US government's costliest weapons system ever. In addition to Britain, Canada, Australia and five other countries have signed onto the programme, contributing a total of $4.8bn. The project has suffered significant cost increases and scheduling delays.

The plane, known as the F-35, is touted for its ability to operate with naval vessels, ground forces, aviation units and space-based communications systems. The ministry of defence said the supersonic plane will be launched from aircraft carriers or land bases and can land vertically, and said that more than 100 British companies have contributed to the programme. BAE Systems produced the plane's tail section, and Rolls-Royce contributed to the engine manufacture.

In addition to military computer systems such as those handling the joint strike fighter project, America's network of private-sector computer systems, which handle critical infrastructure like financial services, utilities and communications, are likely targets, analysts say. Analysts say such attacks happen frequently.

With that threat in mind, the US plans significantly to bolster its cyber security defence infrastructure. The White House is undertaking a broad review of the nation's capabilities, and is likely soon to recommend creation of a cyber security "tsar" reporting to the president who would coordinate security efforts across the federal government and the private sector.

"Some of the best spy agencies in the world have made advanced US technology their prime target," said James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a national security think tank. "This shows how far behind we are in defence."

Lewis said the US must react to cyber espionage as harshly as it does the conventional variety, including expelling defence and intelligence attaches of the countries from which the attacks are found to originate.

"The fact that we don't do that tells people they have a green light," he said