Cyber Warfare

U.S. Navy photo by MCSA Gavin Shields

Did China Hack the Seventh Fleet?

Last updated 05:48 PM EDT • Read time: 1m

U.S. Navy photo by MCSA Gavin Shields

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Today the USS McCain collided a merchant vessel, marking the 4th incident in the past year at the Navy. The timeline is as follows:

8/19/2016â??—â??USS Louisiana

5/09/2017â??—â??USS Lake Champlain

6/17/2017â??—â??USS Fitzgerald

8/21/2017â??—â??USS McCain

These ships share similarities, they are all based in Yokosuka Naval Base, and the USS McCain & USS Fitzgerald are both part of Destroyer Squadron 15 and the Seventh Fleet.

While accidents and mistakes do happen, the number of collisions in the past year is extremely rare, and it is now within the realm of possibility that these accidents were not accidents. Both China and Russia have tested their cyber-warfare capabilities at sea with success.

China Jamming US Forces' GPS
The Spratly Islands are of economic and strategic importance. All of the countries in the region - including China…rntfnd.org

Ships fooled in GPS spoofing attack suggest Russian cyberweapon
Reports of satellite navigation problems in the Black Sea suggest that Russia may be testing a new system for spoofing…www.newscientist.com

Is China testing their capabilities in case of an escalation on the Korean Peninsula? Was this a dry-run? Only time will tell, in the meantime we should pray for our missing sailors.