Low Priority of Cybersecurity Gives Hackers Access to US Weapons Systems – Audit

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Hackers working with the US Department of Defense (DOD) were able to take control of major weapons systems now under development, in part because US officials have failed to make cybersecurity a priority, according to an audit by the General Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday.

"In recent cybersecurity tests of major weapon systems DOD is developing, testers playing the role of the adversary were able to take control of systems relatively easily and operate largely undetected," a press release summarizing the audit’s conclusions stated.

Hackers were able to take control of systems and operate the weapons undetected by using "relatively simple tools and techniques," the report said.

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The release explained that until relatively recently, the Defense Department did not make weapon cybersecurity a priority — a deficiency that weapons developers had only recently begun to correct.

The release mentioned no weapons systems by name. However, the GAO provided a diagram of a fictitious weapon resembling a stealth bomber with 12 separate computer control access points, including microelectronics throughout the plane, which could be targeted by enemy hackers.

The GAO report also warned vulnerabilities uncovered in recent tests likely to represent a fraction of total vulnerabilities due to testing limitations, the report said.