Pentagon Target of Cyber Attack

A cyber attack on the Pentagon Wednesday forced the Defense Department to shut down about 1,500 computers after its systems detected a possible compromise, it said Thursday. The Pentagon deals with hundreds of attacks a day, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said. This attack had no adverse effect, and he expected to have the systems back online as soon as possible.

Employees who may have a compromised system were instructed to conduct business using their Blackberries. Gates talked down the event, saying there would only be "some administrative disruptions and personal inconveniences." As for Gates' personal computer, he said he doesn't use e-mail and is a "very low-tech person."