Littoral Combat Ship Network Can Be Hacked, Navy Finds

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/littoral-combat-ship-network-can-be-hacked-navy-finds.html

Littoral Combat Ship Network Can Be Hacked, Navy Finds
by Tony Capaccio - 2013-04-23T20:43:52Z

The computer network on the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship is vulnerable to hacking, according to findings by Navy cybersecurity specialists.

A “red team” assigned to test weaknesses in computer systems found major deficiencies last year on Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s USS Freedom, said a government official familiar with the findings who asked not to be identified because the Navy report hasn’t been made public. The Freedom, the first of the new ships to be deployed, sailed to Singapore last month for eight months of testing of its manning and logistics operations.

The concern about cybersecurity adds to previous questions about the $37 billion program to build ships intended to perform missions in littoral waters, those close to shore. The estimated price to build each vessel has doubled to $440 million, and its ability to survive to fight after an attack has been questioned.

Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon’s director of weapons testing “provided Navy leadership an assessment of information assurance vulnerabilities testing revealed in LCS” and “recommended those vulnerabilities be remediated without delay,” Defense Department spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said in an e-mailed statement.