US military and government computers 'easy to access'

A security company has gained access to sensitive US military and government computers.

ForensicTec used widely available software to identify unprotected computers to see email, personnel records and financial information.

Army spokesman Colonel Ted Dmuchowski confirms a network was breached but says it "did not affect national security."

ForensicTec president Brett O'Keefe says his company has come forward to highlight security failures.

"We were shocked and almost scared by how easy it was to get in," he told the Washington Post. "It's like coming across the Pentagon and seeing a door open with no-one guarding it."

They came across the network for the Fort Hood army base in Texas while working with a client.

They also accessed other military bases and civilian agencies including Nasa and the energy and transport departments.

They found many computers had simple passwords like the user's name or the word 'password'.

Colonel Dmuchowski, head of the information assurance department in the army's chief information office, said: "On a scale of one to 10, this is a 2.5.

The intrusion occurred on the unclassified network of an army tactical unit in its garrison location - this was not the Pentagon."