The following article is from Defense News Oct. 9-15, 1995 pp1,37. Hacker Exposes U.S. Vulnerability By Pat Cooper and Frank Oliveri Defense News Staff Writers Washington -- A U.S. Air Force captain, using a personal computer and a modem, penetrated the command and control systems of U.S. Navy ships operating in the Atlantic Ocean, exhibiting the awesome offensive capability of information warfare and the significant danger U.S. forces are just beginning to learn how to counter. Air Force personnel based at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., with the knowledge and permission of the Navy, penetrated the computer systems of naval ships in the Atlantic Ocean, Air Force Lt. Gen. John Fairfield, deputy chief of staff for command, control, communications and computers, said Sept. 25. Using standard computers, Air Force operators tapped into the Internet, via a telephone link to the information superhighway, and connected with a ship through an electronic mail link in one of the ships' networked computers, Air Force Officials said Sept. 28. Once inside the ship's computer network, Air Force Operators navigated to the ships command and control system and could have given the ship bogus steering commands, Fairfield said. The methods of the break-in and the actual vulnerabilities it exposed are classified. <lots more text> jps -- Jack P. Starrantino (215) 674-0200 (voice) SEMCOR, Inc. (215) 443-0474 (fax) 65 West Street Road jps@semcor.com Suite C-100 Warminster, PA 18974