DoD admits Chinese hackers breaching U.S. security for top weapon designs

Chinese hackers have breached American security and accessed information on some of the nation's most advanced weapons projects. According to the Defense Department, Chinese hackers have stolen large amounts of data related to several top-level defense programs.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Chinese hackers have targeted the Navy's Aegis missile system, the F/A-18, the V-22 osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Aegis and F-35 projects likely contain the most sophisticated data, as those programs are newer than the others.

The report does not say the Chinese stole any of the designs, but that they did breech security that was intended to protect the designs. China has a long history of copying existing systems for their own use, however the Chinese have more recently begun innovating their own designs, particularly for defense systems.

The report comes just as Australia announced Chinese hackers stole the blueprints for that nation's new spy headquarters.

The report is being issued a month in advance of Obama's anticipated meeting with Chinese President, Xi Jinping who will be traveling to California. California is a center for research and development and a place where several of these weapons systems are designed, tested, and manufactured.

The initial findings of the report were released in January, but only now have the specific programs impacted by the hackers become available. The public version of the report also says the Pentagon is unprepared to handle a full-scale cyber-war.

For its part, the Chinese government insists it does not engage in, nor condone cyber attacks on other countries. Additionally, the state-run media also claims its industries are often the targets of U.S.-led cyberattacks.

More likely, both the United States and China are guilty as China emerges as a leading world superpower. China stands to eclipse even the former Soviet Union for both world scope and power in the century to come.

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