China hacks U.S. Navy contractors and steals just about every bit of weapons data we have

(National Sentinel) Massive: With China’s long history of hacking the U.S. Defense Department, you would think that, at some point, the Pentagon would demand that its military contractors would employ the very best cyber security available — something akin to the level employed by the NSA, FBI, CIA and other top U.S. intelligence agencies.

But no. Apparently, it’s too much for Americans to ask to expect Defense Department contractors to boost their level of cybersecurity in an ongoing threat environment posed by the great powers of the world. Especially China.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Chinese hackers had pretty stolen every bit of U.S. naval strategy that exists, meaning that now the Pentagon and the Navy will have to get to work devising new strategies — that is, for things that can even be changed:

Chinese hackers are breaching Navy contractors to steal everything from ship-maintenance data to missile plans, officials and experts said, triggering a top-to-bottom review of cyber vulnerabilities.

A series of incidents in the past 18 months has pointed out the service’s weaknesses, highlighting what some officials have described as some of the most debilitating cyber campaigns linked to Beijing.

Cyberattacks affect all branches of the armed forces but contractors for the Navy and the Air Force are viewed as choice targets for hackers seeking advanced military technology, officials said.

Navy contractors have suffered especially troubling breaches over the past year, one U.S. official said.