Lockheed Martin hit by record 50 cyber attacks in 2014 - not the only ones

Cyber attacks embolden hackers - World - CBC News

Record number of cyber attacks hit Lockheed Martin in 2014 - Military Embedded Systems

ARLINGTON, VA. Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, announced that Lockheed Martin was hit by 50 cyber attacks during 2014, the most the company has ever seen directed against it and Hewson says she expects the number to only increase.

She made her remarks during an address to journalists at Lockheed Martin's corporate media day in Arlington, Va. During a break out session, myself and a few other journalists met with the company's cyber leadership who said the number of 50 attacks was up significantly from 28 in 2010 when there only 10 attacks.

Investigation reveals cyberattacks on defense contractors - The Washington Post
Defense contractors recently suffered a barrage of cyberattacks from the Chinese government, according to a Senate investigation released Wednesday that revealed startling vulnerabilities in how the Pentagon transports troops and equipment.
Contractors working for the U.S. Transportation Command were successfully hacked about 50 times over a 12-month span that ended in May 2013. Of those, at least 20 were sophisticated intrusions attributed to China, the investigation found.
Despite the seriousness of the breaches, the Transportation Command was made aware of only two, even though other government agencies such as the FBI knew about the intrusions.

US Defense Contractors Still Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks - ThreatTrack Security

It is clear the Edward Snowden affair has had a profound impact on U.S. defense contractors, especially among smaller companies, forcing them to re-evaluate policies and get more stringent with hiring and data access privileges. Nevertheless, contractors believe government guidance on security practices is adequate, though they still feel vulnerable to cybercrime.

It's unlikely that vulnerability can ever be eradicated, considering the frequency of attacks involving malware that grows more complex and elusive by the day. But there are some concrete steps contractors should take to mitigate security risks: implement dynamic malware analysis tools and advanced threat defenses; strengthen their ranks of highly skilled cybersecurity professionals; further review data-access privileges; and reduce risky employee behavior - including senior leadership - such as opening phishing emails, visiting high-risk websites and attaching infected devices to PCs.