The designs for more than two dozen major weapons systems used by the United States military have fallen into the hands of the Chinese, US Department of Defense officials say.
Blueprints for the Pentagon’s most advanced weaponry, including the Black Hawk helicopter and the brand new Littoral Combat Ship used by the Navy, have all been compromised, the Defense Science Board claims in a new confidential report.
The Washington Post acknowledged late Monday that they have seen
a copy of the report and confirmed that the Chinese now have the
know-how to emulate some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated
programs.
“This is billions of dollars of combat advantage for
China,” a senior military official not authorized to speak on
the record told Post reporters. “They’ve just saved themselves
25 years of research and development.”
“It’s nuts,” the source said of the report.
The Defense Science Board, a civilian advisory committee within
the Pentagon, fell short of accusing the Chinese of stealing the
designs. However, the Post’s report comes on the heels of formal
condemnation courtesy of the DoD issued only earlier this month.
“In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world,
including those owned by the US government, continued to be
targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable
directly to the Chinese government and military,” the Defense
Department alleged in a previous report.
Ellen Nakashima, the Post reporter who detailed the DSB analysis
this week, wrote that the computer systems at the Pentagon may
not have necessarily been breached. Instead, rather, she
suggested that the defense contractors who built these weapons
programs have likely been subjected to a security breach. US
officials speaking on condition of anonymity, she reported, said
that a closed door meeting last year ended with evidence being
presented of major defense contractors suffering from intrusions.
When reached for comment, the largest defense contractors —
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman — all
refused to weigh in.
Chinese hackers have previously been accused of waging
cyberattacks on a number of US entities, including billion-dollar
corporations and governmental departments. In 2007 it was
reported that China accumulated the blueprints for the Pentagon’s
F-35 fighter jets, the most expensive weapons program ever
created, but the latest news from the DSB decries that much more
has been compromised.
According to the Post, the plans for the advanced Patriot missile
system, an Army anti-ballistic program and a number of aircraft
have all ended up in the hands of the Chinese. The result could
mean the People’s Republic is working towards recreating the
hallmarks of America’s military might for their own offensive
purposes, while also putting China in a position where even the
most advanced weaponry in the world won’t be able to withstand
complex defensive capabilities once those projects are reverse
engineered.
“If they got into the combat systems, it enables them to
understand it to be able to jam it or otherwise disable it,”
Winslow T. Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform
Project at the Project on Government Oversight, told the Post.
“If they’ve got into the basic algorithms for the missile and
how they behave, somebody better get out a clean piece of paper
and start to design all over again.”
Mandiant, a US security firm located outside of Washington,
reported earlier this year that the China has enlisted an elite
squadron of cyber warrior to attack American computer systems and
conduct espionage on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army. When
the report was released in February, Mandiant said the PLA’s
elusive Unit 61398 has successfully compromised the networks of
more than 141 companies across 20 major industries, including
Coca-Cola and a Canadian utility company. Those hacks reportedly
subsided after Mandiant went public with their claims, but
earlier this month the firm said those attacks have since been
renewed.
“They dialed it back for a little while, though other groups
that also wear uniforms didn’t even bother to do that,” CEO
Kevin Mandia told the New York Times recently. “I think you
have to view this as the new normal.”
On their part, China has adamantly denied all claims that they’ve
waged attacks on US networks. Following Mandiant’s initial
report, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said the
claims were “irresponsible and unprofessional.”
“Hacking attacks are transnational and anonymous,” Hong
Lei said. “Determining their origins are extremely difficult.
We don't know how the evidence in this so-called report can be
tenable.”