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China reportedly stole secret US weapon plans in Navy hack

A Navy contractor had the information on an unclassified network, The Washington Post reports.

Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
Expertise E-commerce, Amazon, earned wage access, online marketplaces, direct to consumer, unions, labor and employment, supply chain, cybersecurity, privacy, stalkerware, hacking. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie Award for a single article in consumer technology
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Laura Hautala
USS George H.W. Bush

Aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush on the Atlantic Ocean. The US Navy's secret weapons plans and other sensitive information were reportedly stolen by Chinese hackers.

 Getty Images

China hacked a US Navy contractor and accessed details on the Navy's weapons plans -- along with other sensitive information about military tech -- according to a report from The Washington Post.

Unnamed US officials told the Post that hackers took 614 gigabytes of information from the contractor, which was also unnamed. The information was reportedly on an unclassified network. The officials said an investigation into the hack is ongoing.

The US Navy didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation and comment from CNET.

In a comment to the Post, however, a Navy spokesman said there's a process in place for third parties to notify the government when a breach may have affected controlled unclassified information, but that it would be "inappropriate to discuss further details."