http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,415016145,00.html By Brady Snyder bsnyderat_private Deseret News staff writer October 28, 2002 HILL AIR FORCE BASE - Attempted hacks into military-base computer systems have increased in the year following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on America. However, it is unknown whether any of those attempted hacks are the work of terrorists. Layton's Hill Air Force Base is just one U.S. military base engaging in a heightened cyber war following last year's attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Hill now receives 1 million cyber attacks monthly, up from 100,000 monthly attacks the base's computer system suffered prior to 9/11, reports the base newspaper, The Hilltop Times. While John Gilchrist, Hill's chief of information assurance, said security precautions forbid him from confirming the newspaper's numbers, he did say Hill has witnessed a large increase in cyber attacks since 9/11. It has been a steady, slow increase, not a sudden jump, Gilchrist said. The increased attacks has Hill's computer defenders on alert. "Probably the biggest single difference has been the level of intensity or seriousness that we approach the job with," he said. "After 9/11, things changed for everybody." There are varying levels of cyber hacks. Some are likely computer geeks poking around where they shouldn't be. Others are more serious, rising to the level of potential sabotage, Gilchrist said. To date, however, Gilchrist said his crew has successfully thwarted every attempted hack. While there is no classified data available on military systems connected to the Internet, Gilchrist said these cyber attackers could work to shut down some of Hill's systems. It is difficult to determine where the millions of attempted hacks originate. In most cases, Gilchrist said attackers will log onto an Internet service provider in one country, hack into a system in another country and then launch an attack — effectively making it more difficult to track the hacker's locale. Hill - like other Air Force bases - is aided by the Air Force Computer Emergency Response Team to find and prosecute military hackers. Raw numbers indicate that most attacks come from inside U.S. borders. However, hacks from Europe and Asia are close seconds, Gilchrist said. To combat the increased attacks, Hill has beefed up Gilchrist's staff, which includes both civilian and military personnel. The base has also employed a new intrusion-detection system that monitors nearby cyber traffic. That personnel is key to stopping attacks, Lt. Garrett Grochowski said. "We certainly don't welcome these attacks, but we've got a great group of people whose job is to defend the base," Grochowski said. Gilchrist predicts that such cyber attacks at Hill and on other military bases will continue to increase. The war on terror and heightened hacker-friendly technology will contribute to those increases, he said. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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