{"id":16098,"date":"2019-06-27T17:43:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T17:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/27\/hackers-are-repeatedly-targeting-navy-contractors\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:56:08","slug":"hackers-are-repeatedly-targeting-navy-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/it-networks\/2019\/06\/27\/hackers-are-repeatedly-targeting-navy-contractors\/","title":{"rendered":"Hackers are repeatedly targeting Navy contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Huntington Ingalls, the Navy\u2019s largest shipbuilder, was compromised by a large-scale hacking campaign waged by several organs of the Chinese government, according to a Reuters report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the company denied the allegation in a June 27 email to Fifth Domain, saying, \u201cthere was no breach of information\u201d from Newport News Shipyard, nor were their systems connected to a foreign server controlled by a Chinese group, known as APT10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sophisticated campaign, dubbed \u201cCloud Hopper,\u201d targeted Hewlett Packard Enterprise\u2019s cloud using it to attack many of its customers, the June 26 report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn early 2017, HPE analysts saw evidence that Huntington Ingalls Industries, a significant client and the largest U.S. military shipbuilder, had been penetrated by the Chinese hackers,\u201d the report read, citing two sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systems owned by a Huntington Ingalls subsidiary were connecting to a foreign server that was controlled by one of China\u2019s most capable and feared hacking groups, known as APT10. Reuters described the group as akin to the Central Intelligence Agency. In an email, a Huntington Ingalls spokesperson said “NNS never used the services of DXC or the companies that merged to form DXC (HPE and CSC).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring a private briefing with HPE staff, Huntington Ingalls executives voiced concern the hackers could have accessed data from its biggest operation, the Newport News, Va., shipyard where it builds nuclear-powered submarines, said a person familiar with the discussions. It\u2019s not clear whether any data was stolen,\u201d Reuters reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. government and Department of Defense has been warning of the vulnerability the defense industrial base poses as a target of foreign espionage. This year\u2019s departmentwide annual report on Chinese military activity included a new section highlighting that China\u2019s exfiltration of sensitive military information from the defense industrial base could allow it to gain a military advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t