Last week the Washington Post obtained confidential portions of a report for the Pentagon by the Defense Science Board that warned that Chinese hackers had cracked into the programs for many of the US military's most sensitive advanced weapons systems. Compromised designs included the advanced Patriot missile system, an Army system for intercepting ballistic missiles and the Navy Aegis ballistic-missile defense system.
The newly publicized claims allege that China employed cyber attacks to access data from nearly 40 Pentagon weapons programs and almost 30 other defense technologies ranging from missile defense systems to the F-35 joint strike fighter. The disclosure was included in a Defense Science Board report released earlier this year but which was only made public this week.
China's economy has greatly benefited from American corporations (including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing) who act as "enablers" when they outsource jobs to foreign countries. China has greatly expanded its military spending and recently launched its first aircraft carrier and produced its first stealth fighter that analysis say comes from U.S. technology.
The scourge of military and commercial hacking will soon become the subject of high-level diplomatic talks between the US and China, in an apparent effort to end tension between Beijing and Washington over recent online attacks. The meetings will be the first formal attempt to break the growing threat to cyber security posed by military-backed hacking operations.
Defense giants like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing have been increasingly trying to peddle their wares to well-financed international customers, and they have a surprising ally: President Obama. American-made arms are widely considered the best and most coveted weapons in the world. Obama had backed a massive push to rewrite the rules that govern arms exports, a process that some say will reduce oversight of U.S. weapons sales. Read more...
But American corporations don't just export products, they've been exporting the jobs to create their products, thus cutting domestic jobs for cheaper labor abroad, and saving on the cost of transport as well, diminishing our economy and putting the nation's security at risk.
"Pentagon Seeks Mega-Mergers Between International Arms Corporations" - A United States government task force released a report to the public recommending globalization of the U.S. defense industry, even if it results in proliferation of conventional weapons.
The Defense Science Board’s Task Force on Globalization and Security (DSB) is a 27-member appointed board, composed mostly of Department of Defense and private industry representatives (e.g.. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing). It encourages the Pentagon to facilitate transnational mergers of defense corporations in order to avoid eventual conflicts with European countries over global arms market shares.
Overall, the DSB task force advocates reducing Department of Defense’s role in controlling arms exports, and holds little or no confidence in multilateral arms control agreements. The DSB recommends that the Pentagon automatically allow the export of military equipment, except when the United States is the sole possessor of the technology. Read America's Hottest Export: Weapons CNN: No escape from outsourcing.
The defense board sounds a louder alarm about foreign software development - The Department of Defense relies heavily on commercial off-the-shelf and custom-built software developed in countries such as India, China and Russia, so it can quickly and cheaply take advantage of the latest advances designed for global markets, rather than relying solely on U.S. developers.
But software developed in foreign countries and used by the DoD and other agencies puts federal information systems at serious risk of being hacked and compromised, according to a recent report issued by Defense's top advisory board.
The report ("Mission Impact of Foreign Influence on DoD Software") by a Defense Science Board (DSB) task force, warns that "globalization of software development where some U.S. adversaries are writing the code [that the Department of Defense will depend upon in war] creates a rich opportunity to damage or destroy elements of the war-fighter's capability."
A thorough analysis from Stanford University regarding the U.S. defense industry and arms sales (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing have used BOGUS PARTS!) "Counterfeit goods are a clear and present danger and a threat to our troops. There is a flood of counterfeits and it is putting our military men and women at risk and costing us a fortune."
Read: Senate committee calls contractors to task for phony military parts
Read: Officials: Fake weapons parts 'ticking time bomb'
Read: Should contractors get blamed for counterfeit parts?