The Pentagon has acknowledged that a computer attack in June struck a computer system in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, but spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm recent news reports that pointed a finger toward China. The Financial Times reported on Sept. 3 that “current and former officials” said DOD had tracked the attack to the People’s Liberation Army. Beijing has since disputed those claims and ones that linked an attack on German government computers to “hackers associated with” the PLA, according to Associated Press news service. Whitman told reporters that there are hundreds of attacks on DOD systems every day. Many of them come from “recreational hackers,” but some he also attributed to nation states. He said: “We continue to aggressively monitor our networks for intrusions. We have appropriate procedures to address events of this nature.” The Air Force is pressing on with plans to establish a Cyber Command this fall.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…