US Weather System and Satellite Network Hacked

mpicpp writes with this story about Chinese hackers breaching the federal weather network. "Hackers attacked the U.S. weather system in October, causing a disruption in satellite feeds and several pivotal websites. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, said that four of its websites were hacked in recent weeks. To block the attackers, government officials were forced to shut down some of its services. This explains why satellite data was mysteriously cut off in October, as well as why the National Ice Center website and others were down for more than a week. During that time, federal officials merely stated a need for "unscheduled maintenance." Still, NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen insisted that the aftermath of the attack "did not prevent us from delivering forecasts to the public." Little more is publicly known about the attack, which was first revealed by The Washington Post. It's unclear what damage, if any, was caused by the hack. But hackers managed to penetrate what's considered one of the most vital aspects of the U.S. government. The nation's military, businesses and local governments all rely on nonstop reports from the U.S. weather service."

Comments

correct me please

[zlives]

so did the NOAA get hacked or just 4 of their websites.

Re:correct me please

[Immerman]

Indeed. An excellent headline, except for the fact that there's no mention of any hacked weather systems of satellite networks in the article. And it's been a long time since a hacked website was particularly newsworthy.

Re:correct me please

[X0563511]

Hacked websites never were.

It's when the databases get breached that it becomes news.

Re:correct me please

[neonv]

From the article,

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, said that four of its websites were hacked in recent weeks. To block the attackers, government officials were forced to shut down some of its services.

... NOAA makes satellite data and imagery available through the Web as well as file transfer networks for downloads.

It was just the web sites, not satellites. This is far overblown.

LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

If the NSA weren't so distracted by its mass surveillance of innocent US citizens it may have been able to prevent this from happening.

Re:LOL

[mars-nl]

I was thinking exactly this (except that I was thinking about "citizens", not "US citizens").

But really, why not stop complaining about China hacking US systems (usually with no evidence) and start getting to asses risks and fix your leaky systems. If billions of dollars poured into the NSA to eavesdrop on people were instead used for finding and fixing vulnerabilities, the USA would be a lot safer.

False weather forecasting?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, who would even notice.

Re:More funding please

[ColdWetDog]

It is very easy to see how this happens. "US Government" computers don't come from the same pile. There is no centralized, underground server farm protected by SEAL teams and NSA contractors, powered by triply redundant nuclear reactors and run through six proxies. It is thousands of separate systems run by agencies how often are pretty strapped for cash, often have systems that haven't been updated in decades and often run by people who don't live and breath security.

So it's no real surprise that NOAA (which could be a poster child for those underfunded, overstretched agencies) got hacked. Probably happens more times than anybody knows. Certainly is happening more times than anybody is saying.

Always the Chinese Hackers

[Anonymous Coward]

No Evidence what so ever that it is Chinese hackers, but we have a hunch so we'll report it as fact.

Re:Propaganda

[praxis]

There is no country that engages in so much propaganda and spying on monumental levels as the U.S; if it comes out of the mouth of the U.S government, be skeptical.

You should travel the world more.

Obligatory XKCD

[Somebody Is Using My]

XKCD did it first
(Seriously, is there a geek-topic that guy hasn't written a cartoon about?)