Base Officials Warn of Brazen Computer Hack Scheme

QUANTICO, Va. — Officials at Quantico report someone may be trying to get unauthorized access to the Navy’s secured internet service, or NMCI.

In a statement, base officials said some users have received a phone call from the would-be hackers warning them that their computers could crash, that remote access to their machines will be required to stave off any problems.

More in a press release:

There have been reports of Navy NMCI users receiving a telephone call purporting to be from a member of an HP/NMCI Windows 7 support team. The caller typically says that problems such as event viewer errors have been detected on your NMCI workstation that will cause it to crash. The individual will direct you to a web link ask you to allow remote access to your computer inorder to fix the problems.

This is NOT a legitimate call, it is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to NMCI resources via a technique commonly referred to as social engineering. When successfully utilized social engineering is a very effective technique for hackers since it allows them to bypass multiple layers of security and gain direct internal access to a computer network using the credentials of a legitimate user.

If you receive a call similar to the one describe above:

1) Do not go to the web link or allow remote access to your NMCI seat.

2) Hang up the phone, do not attempt to engage the caller in conversation or

provide any information about yourself, your NMCI seat, your job, etc.

3) Report the incident to the Information Assurance Officer (ISMO) at [email protected] and provide any information you can remember about the call.