Tens of thousands of US military and government computers containing sensitive information are easily accessible over the Internet, a computer security firm that cracked the networks said on Friday.
Military encryption techniques, correspondence between generals, recruits` Social Security and credit card numbers and other sensitive information is often stored on Internet-connected computers that use easily guessed passwords or in some cases no passwords at all, said an official at San Diego security firm ForensicTec Solutions.
"We were kind of shocked at the security measures, or lack thereof," said ForensicTec president Brett O`Keefe.
A spokesman for the Army confirmed that an unclassified network was breached and that no classified material was believed to have been exposed.
"While any intrusion is significant, particularly when it discloses personal information about our soldiers, the data compromised did not affect national security," said Army Col Ted Dmuchowski, director of information assurance in the chief information office/G6.
The Army`s computer defence system detected the breach, which occurred because of several "miscues" in the process, said Dmuchowski, responding via e-mail to questions.
ForensicTec consultants came across the network for the US Army`s Fort Hood base in Texas while working with another client earlier this summer, O`Keefe said.
From there, they were able to access internal networks at other military bases, as well as civilian agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation, he said.
Computers were easily cracked by guessing common passwords like the user`s name, or even by typing in "password," O`Keefe said.
Although they were not able to access any classified information, the security consultants were able to find e-mail messages between generals and other high-ranking officers and recruits` Social Security and credit card numbers, he said.
They also found records describing radio-encryption techniques, laser-targeting systems and information about couriers carrying secret documents, he said.
More sensitive information might be available, as the consultants only checked a few of the tens of thousands of computers that could be accessed, he said.
To prevent intrusions, the Army is instructing its field units to ban the use of older, inherently weak machines in processing any sensitive data and inserting state-of-the-art security hardware and software technologies into Army systems and network, reviewing polices and procedures, Dmuchowski said.
Last year there were tens of thousands of attempts to breach the Army networks, but less than a half of a percent of them turned into actual intrusions, he said.
"On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) this is a 2.5," Dmuchowski said. "The intrusion occurred on the unclassified network of an Army tactical unit in its garrison location -- this was not the Pentagon."
Computer trespass is a felony crime in the US, and computer hackers could face beefed-up penalties including life in prison under a bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year. But O`Keefe said ForensicTec consultants felt they needed to highlight the lax security so that it could be improved.
"Yes, it was a risk for us to come forward, but if we did not, who is to say the next person to come across these networks would do the right thing?" he said.
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