Chinese hackers compromised controls of America’s most advanced weapons systems

Evidence

In 2013, it became clear that China was at it again, this time worming into the control systems for an alarming number of our most advanced weapons, including, among others, the F-35 joint strike fighter and the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, the Patriot Advanced Capability antimissile system, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, and even our Global Hawk unarmed aerial vehicle system. The fact that these crucial weapons were compromised is scary enough, but the truly terrifying part of these events was the realization that the Chinese were not simply pirating information. It now appears their plan was to inject code that would, when activated, give them complete control of our systems. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 421

Categorization

  • QUESTION: Given this is from 2013 reporting, I’d want to know what happened since — were these dormant codes ever activated or further discovered?
  • XREF: connects to: Chinese hackers inserted dormant code to seize control of advanced US weapons systems; Cyberattacks may soon cripple the entirety of US military forces; Chinese Titan Rain attacks stole massive U.S. military data from 2003 to 2006 — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 420

Broader Connections