Chinese steal F-35 secrets from BAE
Article from Todays Sunday Times (11 March 2012)
The Chinese have exploited vulnerabilities in BAE’s computer defences to steal vast amounts of data on the £200 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a multinational project to create a plane that will give the West air supremacy for years to come, according to the sources. The attack has prompted fears that the jet’s radar capabilities could have been compromised.
Details of the attack on BAE have been a closely guarded secret within Britain’s intelligence community since it was first uncovered nearly three years ago. But they were disclosed by a senior BAE executive during a private dinner in London for cyber security experts late last year.
One of those present said: “The BAE man said that for 18 months Chinese cyber attacks had taken place against BAE and had managed to get hold of plans of one of its latest fighters.
“He seemed genuinely concerned that the attack had gone on undetected for so long and that it posed a threat to the aircraft’s defences.”
Professor Anthony Glees, director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, who was also present at the dinner, said: “It seems the Chinese were getting plans which allow them to undermine the defence capacity of the country. It’s deeply unsettling that GCHQ [the government eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham] didn’t spot this for so long because they are the people who are meant to be leading the fight against cyber crime.”
There has been speculation within the aviation industry that delays and spiralling costs in the F-35 programme may be due to the cyber theft of technology that has left the jet open to detection and electronic attack.
Full article may be viewed in the Sunday Times