State Department got mail _ and hackers

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

State Department got mail _ and hackers

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - 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.

In 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.

Reid was scheduled to testify Thursday at a cybersecurity hearing
for a House Homeland Security subcommittee. ...

-snip-

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

[flyarm]

1. but don't worry.. they have no problem reading our emails..

or sneaking in and out of our homes..and taping our phones!!

shaking head here!!

fly