From IDGA
Over the last year there have been multiple instances of breaches in cyber security in the DoD and government. Most recently a report detailing the fact that in April massive amounts of internet data traffic was re-routed through servers in China which then had access to the potentially sensitive information. The incident which lasted 18 minutes was traced back to China Telecom, a state owned telecommunications firm. The data included information from .mil and .gov sources as well as large corporations such as Microsoft and IBM.
It is not clear if any compromising information was gained from this effort or how or if any of the gathered data will be used. But it is concerning for many of the agencies and companies involved as they are unsure of where they stand or what could potentially be used against them in the future.
This is not an isolated incident and the U.S. government and the Pentagon have been battling cyber attacks, hacking, and other forms of internet crime for years now. However, in the last several years these attacks are growing in number and sophistication and are resulting in security breaches that could have grave consequences. Many seem to be coming from sources in Eastern Europe including Russia and an increasing number from China. However, it is unclear whether these attacks can be linked to government intelligence networks or are a result of cyber terrorists operating on their own personal agenda.