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Study Says Hackers Threaten U.S. Military A Pentagon study says hi-tech hackers could outpace official efforts to protect vital military information systems. Start Date: 4/25/99 According to Discovery Online News, a Pentagon study released in mid-March, 1999 says U.S. military computers and communications systems are "increasingly compromised" and vulnerable to hackers and high-tech enemies. Although the U.S. Defense Department is working to improve cyber security, the study says technological advances are outpacing the Pentagon's sluggish moves to protect vital information used in today's battlefield environments. James McGroddy, chairman of the National Research Council committee that wrote the study, says that command, control, computer, communications and intelligence systems -- "the nervous system of the military" -- are aging fast, while the high-tech tools to attack it are generally thought to be improving by a factor of 10 every five years. "What we have now will be obsolete very soon," McGroddy said at a news conference. "Cyber attacks will find the weakest point." According to the report, the Defense Department "is in an increasingly compromised position. The rate at which information systems are being relied on outstrips the rate at which they are being protected." For example, in a military test at Fort Bragg, North Carolina a year ago, an Army helicopter strayed far off course after its Global Positioning System signals were blocked. In 1997, during a cyberwar game, a national security team gained access to unclassified Pentagon computers, giving the team the ability to disrupt troop movements. Excelsior, Michael Lindemann's new novel (written under the pen name Michael Paul), depicts a wholly plausible near future in which human cloning is both widespread and widely abused; terrorists have access to target-specific biological weapons; recreational space travel is commonplace; and mounting pressures of global climate change, environmental decline, population growth and civil unrest inspire radical new approaches to urban security. Built by Frontier on a Macintosh on 6/17/00; 12:02:01 PM. Web Comments - Produced by Larry Lowe Served 1527 times since 4/25/99.

DNA Machine Marks Big Jump for Nanotechnology Scientists at New York University announced the creation of a tiny moving 'elbow' created out of DNA. Japan's 'Consumer Robot' a Sign of Things to Come A Japaneses firm has announced the advent of the world's first consumer robot designed to perform simple household tasks. In the near future, such robots will become far more capable. NASA: New Hypersonic Propulsion Engine An experiment scramjet engine is being tested for NASA's Hyper-X program, aimed at creating air-breathing aircraft that can fly to the edge of space at Mach 10. Cybernetics Prof Implants Chip in His Own Body Professor Kevin Warwick claimed on Aug 25, 1998 to have become the first human to have a computer chip surgically implanted into his body. Did South Korean Doctors Clone Human Embryo? Researchers in South Korea claimed in December, 1998 that they had cloned a human embryo, but other researchers disputed the claim. Bee Venom Therapy May Ease Many Ailments Therapeutic application of honey bee venom has been practiced since antiquity and may be an effective treatment for arthritis and other inflammatory and degenerative diseases. HIV Can Hide in Body for Decades New research shows that current HIV-suppressing drugs cannot cure or prevent AIDS, because the HIV virus can 'hide' in the human body for up to 60 years. China Got U.S. Nuke Secrets -- How Much Damage? A Congressional report says China succeeded in acquiring highly sensitive U.S. nuclear secrets during three successive administrations, a charge China denies. Cities Hold Key to Winning Environmental Battle The growth of cities is greatly outpacing the growth of human population. Cities now account for the bulk of carbon emissions, water consumption and other key aspects of human impact upon the planet. A Vision of a Coming Age of Prosperity In 'The Long Boom,' author Peter Schwartz and colleagues argue that economic and social conditions could get steadily better for the majority of Earth's people in the years ahead.