Hackers target White House military network

Hackers using computers in China have infiltrated  an “unclassified” network in the US White House, believed to be used for issuing nuclear commands.

The Washington Free Beacon has reported that the hackers, that may be linked to the Chinese government , breaching a system used by the White House Military Office for nuclear commands.

The newspaper spoke to an unnamed White House official who said the hacking incident, which took place earlier this month, involved  access the computer network used by the White House Military Office (WHMO), the president’s military office in charge of some of the government’s most sensitive communications, including strategic nuclear commands. The office also arranges presidential communications and travel, and inter-government teleconferences involving senior policy and intelligence officials.

Earlier this year the US space agency, Nasa, was attacked by hackers. In a testimony to a sub committee on security Nasa inspector general Paul Martin testimony said investigators believed the attack had involved Chinese-based internet protocol [IP] addresses and that the attackers had full system access. During the attack, the hackers were able to modify, copy, or delete sensitive files, and upload hacking tools to steal user credentials and compromise other Nasa systems, said Martin.