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Hackers stole data on Pentagon's newest fighter jet

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-22 08:21

WASHINGTON  -- Cyber hackers nearly two years ago breached a high-tech jet fighter program developed for the Pentagon by Lockheed Martin Corp., but classified information about the aircraft was not compromised, a senior US defense official said Tuesday.

No details about the attacks were provided. The US defense official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

In confirming the attack on Lockheed's F-35 Lightning II program -- also known as the Joint Strike Fighter -- the US official said it is not clear who did it, or whether it was an attempt at corporate thievery or a hacker trying to harm the program. The Pentagon is expected to pay about $300 billion to buy nearly 2,500 of the F-35 jets for the Air Force, Navy and Marines.

The cyber spying revelations come as the White House is poised to release its review on the United States' cyber security. 

Lockheed officials issued a carefully worded statement saying that "to our knowledge there has never been any classified information breach" but that the company's systems are continually attacked, and there are measures in place to detect and stop the hacking.

The statement did not specifically deny a breach into unclassified information or less sensitive areas of the program. The cyber attacks were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday that the US Defense Department networks are probed repeatedly every day and that the number of intrusion attempts have more than doubled.

Whitman described a layered approach to the US government's protections, saying that as the information becomes more sensitive, it is more walled off and safeguarded.

"We view cyberspace as a war-fighting domain ... and we are going to defend it and protect it," Whitman said. "The key is to stay one step ahead of your enemy."

Another official familiar with the program said that the more classified portions of the fighter program are digitally walled off and have heightened protections built in.

That official added that outside cyber scans of the fighter program are not new, and that they could well involve subcontractors and suppliers around the world. Those scans may not involve critical, classified systems, the officials said.

Lockheed Martin Corp. is the lead contractor on the jet, with a number of other companies that include Northrop Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems making parts and systems for the plane.