The Air Force is investigating the connecter betwixt the failure of its classified network, dubbed SIPRNet, at Creech Air Force Base in addition to a serial of high-profile airstrikes that went terribly incorrect inwards September this year.
Creech Air Force Base is a hush-hush facility exterior Las Vegas, where armed services in addition to Air Force pilots sitting inwards night in addition to air-conditioned rooms, 7100 miles from Syrian Arab Republic in addition to Afghanistan, remotely command their "targeted killing" drone travail inwards a video-game-style warfare.
From this dry reason zero, Air Force pilots burn missiles simply yesteryear triggering a joystick on a targeted areas one-half a globe away, equally good equally operate drones for surveillance in addition to intelligence gathering.
Drone functioning facility at Creech Air Force Base -- a fundamental base of operations for worldwide drone in addition to targeted killing operations -- has been assigned equally ‘Special Access Programs’, to access SIPRnet.
What is SIPRnet?
SIPRNet, or Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, is a global USA armed services Internet organization used for transmitting classified information, intelligence, targets, in addition to messages at the hush-hush level.
In other words, SIPRNet is completely parallel Internet, uses the same communications procedures in addition to has been kept carve upward from the ordinary civilian Internet.
Approximately iii Million people alongside hush-hush clearances accept access to SIPRNet, which includes Pentagon in addition to armed services officials, Intelligence agencies, FBI, equally good equally diplomats inwards U.S. of A. embassies all simply about the World.
Classified Network Crashed at Creech Base
The network at Creech Air Force Base was crashed inwards early on September that impacted "critical services," in addition to has non been completely rebuilt, according to U.S. of A. authorities contracting records.
"On nine September 2016, the SIPRNet organization currently inwards functioning at Creech AFB failed, in addition to critical services were impacted," reads a contracting notice posted yesteryear the U.S. of A. authorities inwards early on October.The officials would non say whether the failure was due to internal technical faults, a cyber attack, or a state-sponsored hacker. They would too non say if JWICS — a carve upward mesh organization that handles top-secret data — at Creech was too affected.
"The services were somewhat restored alongside the role of multiple less powerful devices. This temporary solution stabilized the services, but volition non live on able to hold the need for really long. If this solution fails, at that topographic point is currently no other backup system."
U.S. of A. Drones Killed simply about 100 Innocents inside Two Weeks
Within weeks of the calculator disaster, a serial of airstrikes went terribly wrong, which resulted inwards scores of deaths inwards Syria, Afghanistan, in addition to Somalia, according to BuzzFeed News.
On September 17, 62 Syrian soldiers were accidentally killed yesteryear U.S. of A. airstrikes inwards the middle of a ceasefire. On September 28, xv innocent civilians were reportedly killed inwards Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan yesteryear a U.S. of A. drone, equally good equally 22 somali soldiers were reportedly killed inwards Somalia yesteryear U.S. of A. drone strikes.
All the cases are nether review in addition to investigation, in addition to at that topographic point has been no official explanation for targeting innocent people, though the USA expressed its regrets apace afterwards the incident, according to reports.
On Oct 7, the Air Force quietly announced that Creech base of operations would live on champaign of study to a surprise cyber safety inspection in addition to warned personnel to live on wary of phishing attacks in addition to to live on extra careful inwards securing their login credentials.
Has U.S. Classified Network Been Hacked?
These classified networks are definitely non connected to the Internet, but this does non hateful that malware or well-resourced hackers tin bathroom never constitute their ways into these critical networks.
If confirmed, this would non live on the get-go time, when a classified calculator network of U.S. of A. armed services has been compromised.
In the twelvemonth 2008, The Pentagon acknowledged a meaning cyber attack, Operation Buckshot Yankee, where a unusual intelligence agent used a USB drive to infect armed services computers used yesteryear the Central Command inwards overseeing scrap zones inwards Republic of Iraq in addition to Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan alongside a especially crafted malware.
You mightiness live on aware of Chelsea Manning (then known equally Bradley Manning), an dry reason forces soldier who made headlines inwards 2013 when she was sentenced to 35 years inwards prison theater for leaking over 700,000 classified files to WikiLeaks.
Manning allegedly downloaded those hush-hush documents from SIPRNet using a Lady Gaga CD.
Since these classified networks accept a meaning share inwards U.S. of A. national security, terrorist groups in addition to state-sponsored hackers belonging to sophisticated nation-states similar China, Russia, Iran, in addition to Democratic People's South Korea accept e'er shown large involvement inwards targeting them.
