Chinese Hackers Infiltrate U.S. Air Force Striker Jet Program

Hackers have struck at and possibly stolen data relating to the Joint Strike Fighter program, an aircraft military research project spearheaded by the United States and European countries, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal.

The hackers, believed to be backed by the Chinese regime, are reported to have penetrated Lockheed Martin Corp, the largest defense contractor in the U.S., as well as other defense contractors. The Journal report also stated hackers had penetrated the United States Air Force's air traffic controller systems.

Citing officials, the report said that the attacks were traced to China through tracking the IP addresses of the computers used in the attack, as well as other "digital fingerprints" from attacks that had occurred in the past. The report cited the infiltrations as coming from China with a "high level of certainty."