U.S. military's battlefield network in Afghanistan vulnerable to hackers: Report

The Pentagon's main battlefield intelligence network in Afghanistan is vulnerable to hackers.

The U.S. command in Kabul will cut it off from the military's classified data files unless the Army fixes the defects in 60 days, according to an official memo.

The memo obtained by The Washington Times revealed that the army's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) flunked a readiness test and does not confirm the source of outside Internet addresses entering the classified database.

The Sept. 5 warning notice from the U.S. command in Kabul is another blow to the intelligence network, commonly called "D-Sigs."

The warning comes as the U.S. military is on heightened alert against unlawful entry into classified computer networks.

According to the report, some in Congress have pushed to cut off D-Sigs funds and urged the Army to buy off-the-shelf commercial products they say can do a better job in a war where intelligence is crucial to finding insurgents who operate among civilians.

The warning order means the command in Kabul does not believe the common ground system can defend itself at all times against hackers, the report added.