In 2018, news reports said Chinese government-linked hackers stole a large trove of sensitive undersea-warfare information from an unnamed Rhode Island-based U.S. Navy contractor. The reported material included Sea Dragon project data, submarine communications and cryptographic-system information, and an electronic warfare library. Public accounts differ on whether the information was formally classified, so “sensitive” is the most careful description.
What happened in the reported Navy contractor breach?
CyberScoop’s Chris Bing reported on June 8, 2018, that a Chinese intelligence agency had hacked a Navy contractor around February of that year and taken more than half a terabyte of documents about submarine technology and plans. The report attributed the account to the Washington Post. It described the suspected Chinese government connection as an attribution, not as a publicly released forensic finding. CyberScoop’s June 2018 report and USNI News’ contemporaneous account both described the incident.
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The contractor was described as based in Rhode Island and working on a Navy development project called Sea Dragon. The cited reports did not name the breached company. CyberScoop noted that Electric Boat Corp. was among the largest companies involved in the still-active Sea Dragon contract; that fact does not establish that Electric Boat’s systems were breached.
What information was reportedly stolen?
The reports described several categories of undersea-warfare information, rather than publishing a verified inventory of the stolen files. USNI News, citing a defense official familiar with the breach, reported 614 gigabytes related to Sea Dragon, signals and sensor data, submarine radio-room information related to cryptographic systems, and an electronic warfare library. CyberScoop separately reported that the haul exceeded half a terabyte and included an electronic warfare library and information about Navy cryptographic systems.
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- Sea Dragon-related material: information connected to the Navy development project.
- Signals and sensor data: information about undersea systems and their capabilities, as described in USNI News’ report.
- Submarine communications and cryptographic systems: radio-room information related to Navy cryptographic systems.
- Electronic warfare: an electronic warfare library.
The quantities and categories are attributed news reports, not a public inventory confirmed by a released forensic report. The reported figures—more than half a terabyte and 614 gigabytes—come from separate accounts and should not be treated as independently verified measurements.
Were the stolen submarine plans classified?
Public accounts do not agree on the formal classification status. CyberScoop called the material classified, while USNI News described highly sensitive data. A later Congressional Research Service summary characterized the undersea-warfare information as “unclassified but sensitive.” The CRS summary is therefore one reason to avoid stating categorically that all of the reported files were classified. “Sensitive undersea-warfare information” accurately conveys the significance without implying that public reporting settled the classification question.
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What was Sea Dragon?
CyberScoop described Sea Dragon as part of the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office. According to budget-document language quoted in that report, the effort aimed to build a “cost-effective disruptive offensive capability … by integrating an existing weapon system with an existing Navy platform.” The reported breach matters in part because the stolen material was tied to a project intended to combine existing weapons and Navy platforms.
Was this the same as the APT10 theft of Navy personnel data?
No. The Sea Dragon contractor incident and the APT10 case were separate matters. In a December 20, 2018 announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice said APT10 hackers compromised more than 40 computers to steal sensitive Navy data, including personal information belonging to more than 100,000 Navy personnel. That figure concerns the separate APT10 matter, not the Sea Dragon contractor breach. The Justice Department announcement describes that case.
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