http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/dec/12/doe-incinerator-down-as-waste-concerns-go-up/ By Frank Munger knoxnews.com December 12, 2007 [...] --- Following last week's revelations about a computer hacking that potentially exposed the personal data of thousands of lab visitors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is saying little about the event and the ongoing investigation. Lab spokesman Billy Stair said he couldn't comment about a report in The New York Times that the hacking may have had a link to China. The Times referred to a memo from the Department of Homeland Security that suggested "phishing" e-mails were sent to ORNL from Web locations with links to China, although that didn't necessarily mean the Chinese government or any of its citizens were behind the hacking efforts. Stair also declined comment on what agencies are involved in the investigation and wouldn't say if ORNL is collaborating with Los Alamos National Laboratory, which experienced a similar event in the same time frame. The "sophisticated" attack tapped into an unclassified database, but it would seem unlikely that ORNL was targeted for personal info on visitors. Surely, there would be easier places to infiltrate for identity theft than a high-security national lab. The lab has been reluctant to discuss possible motives. "That's a dangerous area to get into because ultimately we can only speculate, and speculation can get you into trouble," Stair said. "The prudent thing to do is to focus on keeping people out and not focus on why they're trying to get in." Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 342-6329. His e-mail is munger (at) knews.com. His blog, Atomic City Underground, is available online at http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/ Copyright 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. __________________________________________________________________ Visit InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org/
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