Cyber security problems leave U.S. complex weapons open to hackers, warns the National Security Agency

Oct. 21, 2021
As the U.S. pivots away from decades of warfare against guerrillas and terrorists, the NSA is warning that America's weapons are vulnerable to attack.

FORT MEADE, Md. – Hackers could gain access to the U.S. military's most complex weapons systems. That's a warning straight from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Md. Popular Mechanics reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

21 Oct. 2021 -- As the military begins to confront high-tech adversaries like China and Russia, weapons that run on computers are at risk of being compromised, NSA officials say.

It's hard to get around that cyber security reality at present; in a world where the Pentagon wants advanced weapons that can transfer data to one another wirelessly, nearly all of them rely on computers, networks, and data links that computer hackers could exploit.

Most Americans know the NSA as the country's leading intelligence agency, responsible for collecting foreign intelligence via computer, cell phone, and other electronic means. Yet the NSA also is responsible for cyber security and playing defense against other countries that seek to penetrate American computers and computer networks.

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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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