Chinese hackers attacked White House, Pentagon comps: Report

New York, Nov 8 (PTI) U.S. cyber intelligence experts suspected that a spate of attacks on the computer networks of White House and Pentagon was carried out by Chinese hackers but conceded that it was difficult to trace the exact source, a media report said here Saturday.

The Financial Times quoted senior officials as saying that Chinese hackers had penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions and obtained e-mails between government officials.

"We are getting very targeted Chinese attacks so it stretches credulity that these are not directed by government-related organisations," U.S. government's cyber intelligence experts were quoted as saying.

They, however, conceded that it was extremely difficult
to trace the exact source of an attack beyond a server in a
particular country, the Times said.

On each occasion, the paper said that the cyber attackers
accessed the White House computer system for brief periods,
allowing them enough time to steal information before computer
experts from the U.S. patched the system.

The report also said that the U.S .government cyber
investigators have determined that an attack on Obama and
McCain campaign computer networks also originated in China.
Details of the intrusion were first reported by Newsweek.

According to the Newsweek report, the Obama campaign
speculated that China or Russia were behind the attacks. A
second official was quoted as saying that cyber analysts had
concluded that the attacks originated in China, but stressed
that they were not able to determine who was responsible.

White House press secretary Dana Perino declined to
comment. The Chinese embassy also did not comment, but in the
past China has called similar allegations reflective of
"Cold-War thinking".

The report quoted officials as saying that the Chinese
cyber attacks had the hallmarks of the "grain of sands"
approach taken by its intelligence, which involves obtaining
and pouring through lots of, often low-level, information to
find few nuggets.

Some U.S. defence companies have privately warned about
attacks on their systems, which they believe are attempts to
learn about future weapons systems, the Times said.

The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a new
unit established in 2007 to tackle cyber security, detected
the attacks on the White House. But the report said official
stressed that the hackers had only accessed the unclassified
computer network, not the more secure classified network.

"For a short period of time, they successfully breach a
wall, and then you rebuild the wall, it's not as if they have
continued access," said the official.

The U.S. has increased efforts to tackle cyber security,
particularly since Chinese hackers believed to be associated
with the Peoples' Liberation Army last year perpetrated a
major attack on the Pentagon.

The cyber attackers managed to obtain information and
emails traffic from the unclassified computer system that
supports Robert Gates, the defence secretary. Pentagon I.T.
technicians were forced to take the network down for days to
conduct repairs, the Times said.

Concerns about Chinese hacking last year prompted
President George W. Bush to tell reporters ahead of a meeting
with President Hu Jintao of China that he might raise the
issue with countries of concern.

Over the past year, the U.S. government has tightened
restrictions on officials using BlackBerrys and computers
overseas, particularly in Russia and China, and sometimes bars
them from removing the equipment from U.S. government aircraft
in the country, the report added. PTI