DoD Testifies to Tightening of Computer Security in Senate Hearing

Top defense and intelligence officials reiterated their commitment to information-sharing at a Senate hearing Thursday, even as they outlined new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the WikiLeaks breach that has led to the release of thousands of classified military reports and diplomatic cables.

The Defense Department, for example, is striving to proceed with needed protections "without reverting to pre-9/11 stovepipes," Chief Information Officer Teresa Takai told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

To stop unauthorized downloading of files to CDs, the department has disabled the "write" function on almost 90 percent of some 220,000 computers with access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, or SIPRNet, she said. The Pentagon is also beefing up information security training while tightening log-in access to SIPRNet machines through the use of "smart cards" in place of unwieldy password systems.

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