I'd just like to note, that most "Hacking" nowadays is possible due to user mistakes, rather than programming mistakes, design mistakes, etc like "old fashioned" hacking focuses on. most likely, someone didn't configure a piece of software correctly, and that resulted in an opening. as to the philosophy of "if you can make it you can break it" , imagine a voice controlled lock. a skilled engineer might be able to take it apart and activate it, but it's hard to bypass this lock say, over the phone, eh? thats basically the task that would be required to break a system that is set up perfectly correctly with any modern system (even windows to an extent, but that has a history of programmatic errors not being fixed...) I don't claim to be any kind of expert in hacking, but I do know that if there is no opening, hackers have no way to get in. having great computer skills does not allow you to have supernatural powers.

Jacob west, Felton, CA, USA

I have recently begun to transpose much of the news articles I read as anything but Sure Truth.
Logically, I say okay.....Computers are down, can they be hacked? I don't think so. Hack proof Pentagon. Next, I say......Hmmmm,,,why would they want to shut computers down at the Pentagon. What's going on? Are some not allowed to see what's going through?
That's pretty conspratorial, just the uppities get to see something? Or is that the opposite also? You know disinformation....
When up is down and down is up........must be a Pentagon Pilot doing stunts.

Quicksnippet, Ellsworth,

What's a transnational actor?

Alison, Leeds, UK

Paul -- How old are you? 14? I was "coding websites typing every line out by hand" That's not hacking / programming / working with firewalls and network security which happened here, that's simply formatting. PHP and Java require basic programming language skill, but this is completely unrelated to hacking into a system. On the other hand...
Everyone Else -- Teenagers have hacked into the Pentagon before and made a couple of the worlds worst Trojans / Viruses. Just because you're young doesn't mean you're stupid.
"In 1997, two California teenagers and a trio of Israeli hackers were arrested for hacking into Pentagon servers. Israeli hacker Ehud Tenenbaum, then 18 years old..."
This could've been anyone.. Someone actually trying to get sensitive information, or just a bored teenager with nothing else to do.

Will, USA,

That's funny Wednesday was the opening day of Live Free or Die Hard with Bruce Willis. The movies plot was a former government agent turned cyber-terrorist who begins reeking havoc by hacking into the Pentagon and other servers in the D.C. Capitol.

Joe, del mar, california usa

Given the TRUE role of the pentagon in the US services, I'd say the best a hacker could do is to divert a few deliveries of harmless supplies somewhere. Sensitive systems that control weapons don't answer to firing commands issue by the Pentagon. Either that or every officer below general staff rank in the armed services of the USA just became redundant!

KR, Stockport,

Anyone who puts confidential/secret information on a computer is daft.

Rosemary London, London,

To Paul Wright, lest us nto forget groups like the Black Gate and the Lopht, both of which were groups of hackers of late teen to twenty somethings who were at one point considered some of the most dangerous people in the world due to their abilities as hackers and phreakers.

curtis anderson, gloucester, UK

In my honest opinion i think its a conspiricy from the American goverment; In possibly two to three days i predict a press release quoting that it was a terrorist cell, and subsequently go on a muslim bashing mission.
Futhermore Paul, Perhaps before taking over the world (because obviously you could if you put your mind to it being a teenager) you should take some more english classes at school.

joshua holden, york, uk

Wow. If this is literally a true break-in and not just some hacked DMZ machines, then the Pentagon is in real trouble and they need to hire some real IT help.

Chad, California,

No way that Pentagon could stop hackers. Hackers are warriors of the techno-age.

An hacker could really make the difference today. Even in a war.

Davide, Roma, Italy