Cyber Attackers Strike Johns Hopkins U. Lab

A prominent Johns Hopkins University laboratory engaged in government cybersecurity research recently suffered its own Internet attack.

The Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md., took down its external Web site after finding “penetration from an unwanted source” on the site, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The lab’s engineers and scientists conduct military and space projects, with about 20 percent of the research sponsored by NASA, according to The Sun.

The attackers didn’t breach the lab’s internal network or gain access to classified information, a spokeswoman, Helen Worth, told the newspaper. But Ms. Worth described the intrusion as the most serious to date for a Web site that had previously experienced smaller attacks.

All the site’s computers will be scanned and the site will likely be down for “a couple days” as information-technology officials conduct a review, she said.

President Obama has been spotlighting cybersecurity recently, and one aspect of the government’s computer strategy involves building a “cyber-range” to test security technology and defend networks. The Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has been awarded $7.3-million to work on the initial phase of the project, which is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. —Marc Parry