Shortly after a military surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter last April, a two-week ÒcyberwarÓ began, and U.S. Army Web sites took numerous hits. More than 50 Web pages were defaced by an automated attack launched by supporters or agents of the PeopleÕs Republic of China. The hackers placed anti-American sentiments in English and Chinese characters on some of the sites. . . .
Shortly after a military surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter last April, a two-week ÒcyberwarÓ began, and U.S. Army Web sites took numerous hits. More than 50 Web pages were defaced by an automated attack launched by supporters or agents of the PeopleÕs Republic of China. The hackers placed anti-American sentiments in English and Chinese characters on some of the sites.

But most of the attacks could have been prevented if published fixes, identified in Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts, were in place on the hacked machines, said Lt. Col. John Quigg, chief of the ArmyÕs network security improvement program in the serviceÕs chief information office.

An IAVA is a digital list of computer vulnerabilities. They are reported monthly to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Quigg said. The alerts are also posted on Army networks and warn of basic security measures needed to ward off viruses, worms or hackers.

The link for this article located at ComputerUser is no longer available.