In less than three months, they secretly penetrated computers that control electrical grids in Los Angeles, Washington and other major cities. They broke into networks that direct 911 emergency response systems. They even got access to the Pentagon's National Military Command Center, the heart of America's war fighting operation. The FBI-led inquiry found that real hackers apparently based in Russia have used the Internet to download essential military technical research, including missile guidance programs, and other data from unclassified Defense Department and other government computers for more than a year. We know other countries that are developing information technology and are doing reconnaissance of our computer networks.
Experts say the United States clearly leads the way in cyber-warfare technology.
But Russia, Israel, France, England and India are also seeking to develop cyber-weapons, U.S. officials say. China is further behind but has demonstrated increasing sophistication. It takes fewer people and far less money. In May 1998, Clinton issued a presidential directive to reorient the U.S. government and private industry to guard against the danger that computers may become if used by vandals, terrorists, criminals and governments. Many are first-generation and fail to detect the increasingly sophisticated hacker attacks.