Pentagon's New F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jet Data Stolen by Hackers

CNN reports that hackers have stolen data from the Pentagon's new Joint Strike Fighter F-35 Lighting II jet over the past two years.

If this information is true, our new President could be in for some big trials. Also, if the United States' security is threatened, then this could give an edge to any country that is currently planning an attack on the U.S. or one in the future. Having inside knowledge on how the F-35 operates gives them the advantage of designing a fighter plane that could overpower the F-35 of the United States.

The hackers gained access of the data through computers that belong to the contractor hired by the Pentagon for designing and building the fighter jets.

The data compromised and possibly recovered by the hackers include the design of the fighter jets, as well as the electronics system and all operations. Performance statistics on the fighter jet and other data that could be used to defend against the fighter were all at risk.

Hackers also gained control of the air traffic control system of the U.S. Air Force which allowed them to see where all aircraft units were in the air at any given time.

Authorities at this time say no "highly sensitive" data has been compromised. However, this may be a premature statement.

The F-35 Lighting II is designed to be used by all branches of the military. Each branch will have a specially designed fighter jet, which will also be sold to other military units in allied countries. The main contractor for the fighter jet is Lockheed Martin Corporation. Northrop Grumman Corporation and BAE Systems PLC are subcontractors hired to assist in the production of the fighter jets. There are also several international contractors involved in the construction of the fighter jets.

Lockheed Martin has denied any breach of classified information at this time but later made the following statement in regards to the announcement by The Wall Street Journal that files had been hacked, "The U.S. government doesn't talk a whole lot about this, and neither do we. But in response to the [Wall Street Journal] report, we think it's incorrect," said Bruce Tanner of Lockheed Martin. "There's never been any effective attack. We have measures in place, and there's never been a successful attack."

Lockheed Martin later re-phrased their statement, "To our knowledge, there has never been any classified information breach. Like the government, we have attacks on our systems continually and have stringent measures in place to detect and stop attacks."

Although the Pentagon has not released any information on the origin of the hackers, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the hackings originated from China. They also report that there has been an increase on the number of hacking attempts in the past six months.

The United States has spent billions of dollars on this project in the last couple of years and have budgeted funds for the next two years to build F-35's. Test F-35's have already been launched and have already been tested in the air. The question now is "was all this for nothing?" Has our nation's security been compromised, and if so, by how much? Either way, the news of hackings occurring over a two year span is pretty darn scary.

Sources:

CNN: Hackers Stole Data on Pentagon's Newest Fighter Jet

The Wall Street Journal: Computer Spies Breach Fighter-Jet Project