Chinese government ‘hacks into White House office in charge of the nuclear …

White House officials confirmed that a hackers did try to ‘phish’ into the Military Office server but said there was no damage done

‘In this instance the attack was
identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication
whatsoever that any exfiltration of data took place. Moreover, there was
never any impact or attempted breach of any classified system,’ the
White House official continued.

They wrote that the attack, which allegedly occurred earlier in September, was yet another example of the ‘failure of the Obama administration to press China on its persistent cyber attacks’.

The breach occurred using a ‘spear phishing’ tactic, in which a hacker sends uses common phrases or inviting subject lines to draw the recipient in and attract their attention in hope of gaining access ot their computer.

Sensitive: The Military Office, which was targeted in the attack, is in charge of securing the ‘nuclear football’ which is the black briefcase (pictured) that contains the nuclear launch codes

Once those steps are taken- and it is
unclear whether they were in this case- the links or attachments enable
the hacker to download their malicious software, also known as malware.

HOW CHINESE CYBER-HACKERS ARE TARGETING AMERICA

While the attacks on government officials provides the greatest risk in the political realm, private American businesses have also been the target of Chinese hackers. 

One example was that of a paint company called Valspar Corportation, which had a number of its proprietary paint formulas stolen. The move cost the company $20million. 

Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that produces products sold in America including iPhones, was hacked in February by a group called Swagg Security which then obtained and released the email and credit card data for banking information for American companies including Apple and Microsoft.

The state-run Medicaid system in Utah was hacked last month, prompting calls for tightened security around any government health databases that would be implemented in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. Administrators claimed that no personal medical data was removed from the site but it was not operational for ten days.

Though the political slant of the Free
Beacon reporting is clear, it is also true that this is not the first
time that Chinese hackers have gotten unnervingly close to White House
communications.

The FBI never released the names, or even t he number of staffers who were thought to be targeted in the attack.

In the latest hacking, however, the target was much more clear and focused solely on the White House Military Office.

The Military Office is in charge of arranging the President’s travel, coordinating inter-office conference calls between top government officials, and most notably the security of the so-called ‘nuclear football’, the nickname for the suitcase that contains and controls all of the nuclear launch codes.

The Free Beacon, which Politico points out published a story about a Russian submarine trolling in North American waters which was flatly denied by numerous government agencies, says a breach in this office would be devastating to the country’s security.  ‘This is the most sensitive office in the U.S. government,’ an unidentified former U.S. intelligence official told the paper.

‘A compromise there would cause grave strategic damage to the United States.’

‘So far, no one has managed to seriously damage or disrupt our critical infrastructure networks. But foreign governments, criminal syndicates and lone individuals are probing our financial, energy and public safety systems every day,’ he wrote.

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Surely an act of war?

–

Amparelli
,

London,
04/10/2012 09:32

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Watch out for china.. The biggest threat to world peace!

–

me
,

oh oh,
03/10/2012 02:12

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They hacked and they were unsuccessful? Erm well they penetrated through your security how is that unsuccessful.

–

Batman
,

Gotham city,
03/10/2012 01:32

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And you don’t think the US do any hacking in to Chinese government computers.

–

frank
,

bristol,
03/10/2012 01:15

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This isn’t a good sign for world peace.

–

SR
,

Bournemouth,
02/10/2012 22:28

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All the Yanks have to do is hack into the computer network responsible for the Three Gorges Dam and a third of the Chinese population will be doing the breast stroke. It would be a mistake to think the Americans are sitting on their hands.
– Tony , Worthing, United Kingdom, 02/10/2012 18:04
Sorry Tony, but the Americans wouldn’t dare do anything of substance. They only bully the weak, all bullies do. They know that in 30 years time, China will be the top nation and America does not want to have a bad time then, so they’ll turn the other cheek and go after the little guys.

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Kuri
,

UK,
02/10/2012 19:24

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Their army is larger than the United States population

Their bank balance is also larger. Not to mention the amount on loan to the US

No fighting only words in this conflict

–

onthefence
,

Derbyshire uk,
02/10/2012 19:18

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All the Yanks have to do is hack into the computer network responsible for the Three Gorges Dam and a third of the Chinese population will be doing the breast stroke. It would be a mistake to think the Americans are sitting on their hands.

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Tony
,

Worthing, United Kingdom,
02/10/2012 18:04

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Also, in the decade up to 2000, you weren’t even allowed to sell desktop computers to China. How the world has turned because of slave labour wages.

–

Mute Requiem
,

England, United Kingdom,
02/10/2012 16:21

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and if we didn’t have nukes, owe money, and keep evil secrets there would be nothing to hack and we could trust our own government. So much for that.

–

Mahhn
,

Nashua, United States,
02/10/2012 15:15

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