Hackers Ride Web Into Defense System

A military computer server near San Antonio was probed for several days in January by hackers who entered the system through an overseas site on the Internet. The intrusions were detected by the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who chairs the House subcommittee responsible for military research and developments, said the episode underscores the problem of safeguarding military computers against sophisticated terrorists or rogue nations. The Defense Department said it was able to stop the hackers and that they did not penetrate the part of the network with access to classified material. The new method of intrusion “is larger and much harder to understand,” Weldon said.