Royal Navy website infiltrated by computer hacker

The Royal Navy website has been infiltrated by an internet hacker forcing the MOD to take the site offline.

    

Home page of the Royal Navy website which has been taken offline after it was infiltrated by an internet hacker

The navy's website was shut down this morning after a self-confessed security enthusiast claimed to have hacked into the site and its databases.

In a new post on his blog the hacker, a Romanian national known only as TinKode, claims to have penetrated the security of the navy's site late on Friday night.

The shocking breach comes just weeks after the coalition Government announced plans to make countering cyber-terrorism a major defence priority.

Last month, a Strategic Defence Review stated that in addition to international terrorism and natural disasters, cyber attacks from a new generation of sophisticated cyber terrorists were one of the major threats to the UK.

Despite cuts to front-line military services, the Government allocated a staggering £500 million pounds of public funds to combat cyber attacks.

The bulk of that money will be used to protect defence assets including classified databases on military sites.

The hacking leaves defence chiefs red-faced and raises serious questions about the readiness of the UK for a more serious cyber attack.

Scores of fellow computer buffs have left messages of congratulations to the Romanian computer expert on his blog after he made the security breach public.

One said: "TinKode doesnt need sophisticated weapons to disarm an army. He just need (sic) a PC."

Another said: "Not hard to find vulnerable military site. Just use Google."

Visitors to www.royalnavy.mod.uk were greeted with a message which read: "Unfortunately the Royal Navy website is currently undergoing essential maintenance. Please visit again soon."