In 2008 U.S. government computers were infected 5,499 times with malware

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were 5,499 known breaches of U.S. government computers with malicious software last year, comparing to 3,928 in 2007, and 2,172 in 2006, reports the Associated Press.

It seems hackers have become a serious problem for most governments. The Pentagon reported it spent more than $100 million in the last six months as a result of damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems. The White House is about to finish its 60-day review on improving government usage of technology with the aim of protection. As the result of "unknown foreign entities" computers of the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, and NASA have been damaged, states the report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

It should also be mentioned that in 2007, Russian hackers have crippled computer networks in Estonia for almost three weeks, which caused NATO to set up an Estonia-based cyber defense center. German experts, monitoring Chinese cyber espionage since the 1990s, have verified "many hundreds of attacks per year," and say there are many gone undetected. Moreover, it should be highlighted that cyber threats are not causing problems only for governments. David Livingstone, author of a report on cyber threats by the London-based Chatham House think tank said, it was a problem of all sectors - businesses, government and individuals. With the aim of accessing information on his actions, and discussions of documents, Dalai Lama group's e-mail system was infiltrated with malware. This fact is insufficient, considering the Chinese hackers infiltrating 1,295 computers in 103 countries. 

On other hand, governments also seem to be using cyber attacks. a group of independent Western computer experts traced domain names and Web site registration data to conclude that the Russian top security and military intelligence agencies were involved in "denial of service" attacks seen by Georgian government and corporate Web sites during the weeks leading up to the war between Russia and Georgia. Chen Wenguang, a Chinese computer expert, said "I believe that it is the Americans that steal the most secrets." In response, Kevin Chilton, Air Force Gen., who heads U.S. Strategic Command stated, "A good defense also depends on a good offense," said.

The Cambridge security experts recommend that some data is simply kept on paper.

Source: The Associated Press