{ "id": "53e548ad-46c7-47f1-b235-c3fe1aede2cc", "created_at": "2026-04-06T00:16:03.336335Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:29:43.490725Z", "deleted_at": null, "sha1_hash": "a7a938d461e2e5255ce6006f326f2e1751671720", "title": "China blamed for data theft from US Navy contractor", "llm_title": "", "authors": "", "file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_size": 1066849, "plain_text": "China blamed for data theft from US Navy contractor\r\nBy Charlie Osborne\r\nPublished: 2018-06-11 ยท Archived: 2026-04-05 23:51:39 UTC\r\nFile Photo\r\nChina is being blamed for a cyberattack on a US Navy contractor which has led to the theft of sensitive military\r\ninformation.\r\nAs reported by The Washington Post, US officials have claimed that up to 614 Gigabytes of information was\r\nstolen, including signal and sensor data, as well as submarine radio information relating to cryptographic systems.\r\nPlans for supersonic missiles which are due to be utilized by US submarines by 2020 were also compromised\r\nduring the attack.\r\nHowever, the most critical datasets stolen relate to a mission called Sea Dragon. While little is known about the\r\nproject, the US Defence Department has described Sea Dragon as research into \"disruptive offensive capabilities\"\r\nby \"integrating an existing weapon system with an existing Navy platform.\"\r\nSEE: Can Russian hackers be stopped? Here's why it might take 20 years (TechRepublic cover story) |\r\ndownload the PDF version\r\nAs noted by The Drive, the Sea Dragon project began in the 2015 fiscal year, resulting in in-water tests, ejection\r\nbodies, hardware development, and a successful land test.\r\nhttps://www.zdnet.com/article/china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor/\r\nPage 1 of 3\n\nHowever, no details on the project's status have been revealed since 2016 in budget documents beyond plans for a\r\n\"sea-based tactical demonstration\" by the end of the 2018 financial year.\r\nAn electronic warfare library was also reportedly compromised. If this is the case, hundreds of mechanical and\r\nsoftware-based systems may have been placed at risk.\r\nThe cyberattack took place across January and February this year. The unnamed contractor that was targeted\r\nworked with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a research establishment in Newport, Rhode Island.\r\nThe New York Times reports that the contractor was working on a Navy submarine and other underwater\r\nprograms.\r\nTechRepublic: Why AI could make the US and China the two biggest superpowers and change warfare as\r\nwe know it\r\nWhile the data -- once compiled -- could be considered classified, the information was reportedly stored on an\r\nunclassified network and would otherwise be considered unclassified, according to officials.\r\n\"There are measures in place that require companies to notify the government when a 'cyber incident' has occurred\r\nthat has actual or potential adverse effects on their networks that contain controlled unclassified information,\"\r\nNavy spokesman Commander Bill Speaks told the Washington Post.\r\nHowever, Speaks would not reveal any further details of the security incident.\r\nThe US Navy and FBI are believed to be investigating the espionage case.\r\nWe do not hear about every example of military espionage from all sides and states. However, with Chinese\r\nmissiles reappearing in the South China Sea, it seems the country would take any advantage possible to secure the\r\narea and strengthen its dominion over the disputed territory.\r\nThe maritime industry, in any form, appears to be just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other. Last week,\r\nsecurity researcher ken Munro warned that a commonly-used system for navigation, the Electronic Chart Display\r\n(Ecdis), is vulnerable to exploit.\r\nCNET: China turns to tech to monitor, shame and rate citizens\r\nShould threat actors choose to target Ecdis, it may result in widespread navigational confusion for ships and\r\nshipping lane chaos.\r\nZDNet has reached out to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and will update if we hear back.\r\nPrevious and related coverage\r\nBad passwords and weak security are making ships an easy target for hackers\r\nGold Galleon hackers target maritime shipping industry\r\nShipping firm warns that hackers may leak confidential information\r\nhttps://www.zdnet.com/article/china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor/\r\nPage 2 of 3\n\nSource: https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor/\r\nhttps://www.zdnet.com/article/china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor/\r\nPage 3 of 3", "extraction_quality": 1, "language": "EN", "sources": [ "ETDA" ], "references": [ "https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor/" ], "report_names": [ "china-blamed-for-data-theft-from-us-navy-contractor" ], "threat_actors": [ { "id": "c2879cb2-72cc-473a-aab9-024050f5dde9", "created_at": "2024-06-19T02:03:08.055587Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.687839Z", "deleted_at": null, "main_name": "GOLD GALLEON", "aliases": [ "" ], "source_name": "Secureworks:GOLD GALLEON", "tools": [ "AgentTesla", "HawkEye", "Pony", "Predator Pain" ], "source_id": "Secureworks", "reports": null }, { "id": "73287b62-af12-4c8b-98db-c6ba386cbb28", "created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:39.257688Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.263658Z", "deleted_at": null, "main_name": "GOLD GALLEON", "aliases": [], "source_name": "MISPGALAXY:GOLD GALLEON", "tools": [], "source_id": "MISPGALAXY", "reports": null } ], "ts_created_at": 1775434563, "ts_updated_at": 1775791783, "ts_creation_date": 0, "ts_modification_date": 0, "files": { "pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a7a938d461e2e5255ce6006f326f2e1751671720.pdf", "text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a7a938d461e2e5255ce6006f326f2e1751671720.txt", "img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a7a938d461e2e5255ce6006f326f2e1751671720.jpg" } }