Lockheed Martin Corporation and Other U.S. Military Contractors Attacked by Cyber Criminals
Multiple sources are slowly expanding information about the network hacking attack on this major player in the United States Department of Defense industry and possibly others contractors not identified at this time. According to a Reuters exclusive news item, the Lockheed Martin Corporation network was hacked using what it is believed information the hackers obtained during a previous March 2011 sophisticated hacking attack that EMC the RSA provider and manufacturer of the RSA security key system, disclosed at that time. As a result of the attack hackers possibly learned how to copy the security keys with data stolen from RSA during that March attack.
Lockheed Martin Corp is the number one supplier in sales of military weapons systems to the USA. When EMC Corp.’s RSA unit said it was hit by a cyber attack in March they said that the cyber attack resulted in some information being taken from its systems, including data related to RSA’s SecurID authentication products. These SecurID tokens are similar to Blizzard's World of Warcraft authenticators, those tiny little key fobs that display an always-changing code that one must enter to log into their server. The key fob is sold for $6.95 by Blizzard. Please notice that this is inexpensive, but effective security.
RSA uses a two-step verification process that requires a personal identification number and a series of numbers that change on a regular basis. The so-called “SecurID” electronic keys are very popular and are less expensive than more complex options like biometrics based logins such as eye retina and fingerprints. The SecurID generates new strings of digits on a minute-by-minute basis that the user must enter along with a secret PIN (personal identification number) before they can access the network. If the user fails to enter the string before it expires, access is denied. If it fails a number of consecutive times, most access providers will block the user.
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