Pentagon hit by huge cyber theft

Critics say Pentagon cyber strategy does not have enough bite to counter breaches in defence networks A top Pentagon official has admitted that a massive amount of data related to new defence technologies were stolen earlier this year. "It was 24,000 files, which is a lot, but I don't think it's the largest we've seen," William Lynn, the US deputy defence secretary, said on Thursday. Lynn revealed the theft as he unveiled a new Pentagon cybersecurity strategy that designates cyberspace as an "operational domain" like sea, air and land where US forces will practice, train and prepare to defend against attacks. He said the theft occurred in March and targeted files at a defence contractor developing weapons systems and defence equipment. However, he declined to specify the country behind the attack, what company was hit or what the files contained. The hacking was a dramatic illustration of the rising difficulties the Pentagon faces in protecting military and defence-related networks critical to US security. Critics say the new strategy doesn't have enough bite to counter those types of breaches, much less the ones that could potentially cripple a nation. Defence department employees operate more than 15,000 computer networks and 7 million computers at hundreds of installations around the world. The department's networks are probed millions of times a day and penetrations have compromised huge amounts of data. Lynn said a recent estimate pegged economic losses from theft of intellectual property and information from government and commercial computers at over $1tn. With millions of hackers on the prowl each day to breech defence networks, it has to be seen whether Washington has the political will to take more aggressive measures to protect its most sensitive secrets.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Sri Lanka Catholics seek Saudi clemency

	Secretary General of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL), Bishop Norbert Andradi

Catholic leaders in Sri Lanka joined hands with other Sri Lankans and human rights groups calling Saudi authorities to pardon and free Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek, who is on death row in a Saudi jail.

Secretary General of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL), Bishop Norbert Andradi told a media briefing on Thursday that it is the belief of all Sri Lankans.

Rizana Nafeek has been charged with the death of a four month old infant in her care in June 2007.

Compelling factors

Bishop Andradi said that the CBCSL is aware of the background under which Rizana Nafeek had been compelled to go to Saudi Arabia as a house amid.

"We understand that she was neither capable, nor had the knowledge of looking after an infant because Rizana herself is a young girl", he said.

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Deadly triple blasts hit Mumbai

At least 21 dead and scores wounded after Indian city is targeted in what the home minister said was a terrorist attack.

Three bombs have rocked crowded areas of Mumbai during the evening rush hour, killing at least 21 people in the biggest such attack on India's financial capital since the 2008 assaults blamed on a Pakistan-based group. At least 141 people were wounded in Wednesday’s blast, officials said. "The blast occurred at about 6.45 pm (13:15 GMT) within minutes of each other. Therefore, we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Palaniappan Chidambaram, the federal home minister said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts and Indian officials refused to speculate on who might be behind them. At least one car and a motorbike were used in the attacks in which improvised explosive devices were believed to have been used, officials said.

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