3 ways the Navy wants to protect its weapons from cyberattacks

They have been hacked, tricked and stolen from. Now the message is clear -- no more.

The Navy is looking to support research in 36 areas that can help protect weapons systems from cyberattacks, Naval Air Systems Command said in a Jan. 7 update to a broad agency announcement.

“Its not necessarily cutting edge research, but it is the first step in cybersecurity quality control that should have already been done for mission systems,” said Bryson Bort, the founder and CEO of Scythe, a cybersecurity platform.

The Navy had admitted as much.

Research into protecting the department’s weapons comes amid reports that the American military suffers from sustained cyberattacks. In December, an Inspector General report found that some in the Pentagon were not taking basic cybersecurity steps to protect its ballistic missile system. Although the Pentagon’s weapons are worth roughly $1.66 trillion, an October report from the Government Accountability Office found that “nearly all” American missiles, jets, ships and lethal equipment in development are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The announcement comes after Congress has mandated the Pentagon address its cyber vulnerabilities.