5 things to know about cyber threats to U.S. military

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Area defense contractors face cyber threats from foreign countries seeking to gain access to intellectual property and classified secrets, experts say.

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Dayton Area Defense Contractors Association has an upcoming conference in May that will focus in part on threats facing defense companies.

Here are five things to know about the threat of cyberattacks:

* A Center for Strategic and International Studies report found cybercrime causes between $375 billion and $575 billion in global economic losses annually.

* Congress has ordered defense contractors to put in place new cyber security measures by Dec. 31, 2017.

* The Defense Department relies on about 60,000 defense contractors, of which 42,000 have contractual requirements to protect information in cyberspace.

* The Pentagon has a voluntary cyber threat sharing network with the defense industry.

* Educating employees about what to be wary of online is the best defense against cyber threats, experts say.

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