Cybersecurity

DoD databases: A prime target for cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are on the rise, and networked military resources are on the front line of what may someday escalate into an all-out cyberwar.

Databases, storing tactical and various other types of sensitive information, are widely used across the Department of Defense. Yet a growing number of defense technology industry observers, including Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, believe that DoD is misapplying its security resources, prioritizing overall network protection over what has become the prime target of most attackers.

At a recent defense conference, Hurd produced a chart from Oracle’s database division showing that databases are, at 52 percent, the IT layer most vulnerable to attack. The network layer, on the other hand, is the target of only 34 percent of attacks.