Significant cyber attack thwarted: Lockheed Martin

She said the company,the worlds biggest aerospace company and the Pentagons No 1 supplier by sales,was working around the clock to restore employee access to the targeted network while maintaining the highest security level.

The US Defence Department said in statement late Saturday night that it was working with Lockheed to determine the scope of the attack. The incidents impact on the department is minimal and we dont expect any adverse effect, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel April Cunningham said by email.

The Department of Homeland Security,or DHS,said that it and the Defence Department had offered to help curb the risk from the incident. Lockheed is the maker of the F-16,F-22 and F-35 fighter jets as well as warships and other multibillion-dollar arms systems sold worldwide.

There was no word on where the attack may have originated. Military contractors systems contain technical specifications on weapons under development as well as those currently in use.

A person with knowledge said Friday that unknown attackers had broken into networks of Lockheed and several other US military contractors. Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman,Pentagons No 2 and No 3 suppliers respectively,declined to discuss matters of corporate security.

DHS doesnt know much about whats going on, said Anup Ghosh,former senior scientist at Pentagons Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.