Details About U.S. State Department Computer Compromise Surfaces

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

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Via Yahoo! news (AP).

[snip]

A break-in targeting State Department computers worldwide last summer
occurred after a department employee in Asia opened a mysterious e-mail
that quietly allowed hackers inside the U.S. government's network.

n the first public account revealing details about the intrusion and the
government's hurried behind-the-scenes response, a senior State Department
official described an elaborate ploy by sophisticated international
hackers. They used a secret break-in technique that exploited a design flaw
in Microsoft software.

Consumers using the same software remained vulnerable until months
afterward.

Donald R. Reid, the senior security coordinator for the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security, also confirmed that a limited amount of U.S.
government data was stolen by the hackers until tripwires severed all the
State Department's Internet connections throughout eastern Asia. The
shut-off left U.S. government offices without Internet access in the tense
weeks preceding missile tests by North Korea.

[snip]

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070419/ap_on_hi_te/hackers_state_department

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/


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