A series of sophisticated attempts to break into Pentagon computers has continued for more than three years, and an extensive investigation has produced "disturbingly few clues" about who is responsible, according to a member of the National Security Agency's advisory board.. . .
A series of sophisticated attempts to break into Pentagon computers has continued for more than three years, and an extensive investigation has produced "disturbingly few clues" about who is responsible, according to a member of the National Security Agency's advisory board.

The NSA consultant, James Adams, says U.S. diplomats lodged a formal protest with the Russian government last year after investigators determined that the cyber attacks, which they code-named "Moonlight Maze," appear to have originated from seven Russian Internet addresses. But Russian officials replied that the telephone numbers associated with the sites were inactive and denied any prior knowledge of the attacks, according to Adams.

"Meanwhile, the assault has continued unabated," Adams wrote in this month's Foreign Affairs magazine, published by the Council on Foreign Relations. "The hackers have built 'back doors' through which they can re-enter the infiltrated systems at will and steal further data; they have also left behind tools that reroute specific network traffic through Russia."

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