In a single case this summer, an attack by hackers disabled a reported 1,500 Pentagon computers. And the siege is continuing. The Defense Department detects 3 million unauthorized "scans"—or attempts by would-be intruders to access official networks—on its computers every day, according to a Pentagon spokesman. Now the Bush administration, worried particularly about computer attacks from China, is aiming to beef up American defenses. According to officials in the cybersecurity industry, who like several sources quoted in this article did not want to be named discussing confidential programs, the White House is quietly preparing a major "cyberdefense" initiative to be announced later this year.

At Newsweek.

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