Cybersecurity

Chinese hackers have been hammering the US Navy, and admirals are in the crosshairs

A top US admiral explained Wednesday that the Navy is keeping high-level promotions a secret because hackers from China and other adversarial countries are targeting flag officers.

While the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps all continue to publish lists of newly promoted officers, the Navy abruptly stopped in October, USNI News first reported last month.

The policy reportedly began with the promotion of Trump's doctor, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who withdrew from consideration to lead Department of Veterans Affairs amid a scandal.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson defended the policy decision Wednesday, arguing that publishing this information — which the US Senate continues to publish— leaves high-ranking Navy officers vulnerable to cyberattacks.

"I don't know if you've been personally attacked in the cyber world, but our flags are," Richardson said at a conference in Washington, DC, Breaking Defense reported. It is "just a vulnerability that we are trying to think about," he added, according to Military.com.