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US military networks vulnerable to cyberattacks: Top commander

Josh Mayeux, network defender, works at the Air Force Space Command Network Operations & Security Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado July 20, 2010. (Reuters photo)

A top US military official says that American computer networks, including Pentagon communications, are prone to cyberattacks as their outmoded architecture cannot provide enough visibility and control options.

Speaking at a virtual conference on Tuesday, US Army Cyber Command head Stephen Fogarty said, “Our networks are under a relentless attack... Some adversaries successfully get through.”

“We must improve our cyber security, we must become faster, more aggressive and more importantly persistent in defense of our networks, data and weapons platforms,” Fogarty said at the virtual 2020 AFCEA Army Signal Conference.

Multiple organizations and authorizing officials throughout the army own and administer the current network architecture where systems are used by seven million Pentagon employees, he said, but noted this task is done “without sufficient visibility and sufficient command and control.”

“We just don’t see ourselves. Today our systems are inefficient and exposed to unsustainable risk,” Fogarty added.

His remarks come after a fire broke out at Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious American warship, as it was anchored at the US Naval base in San Diego on Sunday.

The blaze was accompanied by at least one large explosion while docked for scheduled maintenance between deployments.

Four civilians and 17 sailors were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Mike Raney, a spokesman for the Navy’s Pacific fleet.

Raney also said that there was no evidence of foul play in the incident.

However, the precise cause has remained unknown with some analysts suggesting that a cyberattack might have caused the incident.

“It's conceivable that it will be blamed on a cyberattack from whoever the US wants to escalate against,” said Kevin Barrett, an American author, journalist and radio host.


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