Lockheed Martin fends off IT network attack

Defence contractor, Lockheed Martin, successfully warded off an attack on its information systems network.

Top US defence contractor, Lockheed Martin, said that it had successfully warded off "a significant and tenacious" attack on its information systems network.

"Lockheed Martin detected a significant and tenacious attack on its information systems network," a company statement said.

The company's information security team detected the attack almost immediately and took what is described as "aggressive actions" to protect all systems and data, the statement said.

"As a result of the swift and deliberate actions taken to protect the network and increase IT security, our systems remain secure," Lockheed Martin said.

"No customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised."

The incident was under investigation, and Lockheed Martin said it was keeping appropriate US government agencies informed of the situation. It did not mention any suspected source of the cyber attack.

The company said that despite the attack, it remained confident in the integrity of its "robust, multi-layered information systems security".

US government officials, for their part, told US media that the consequences of the attack for the Pentagon and other agencies was "minimal", and no adverse effect on their operations was expected.

Headquartered in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington, Lockheed Martin employs about 126,000 people around the world. It focuses on design, development and manufacturing of advanced technology systems, including some of the most advanced weaponry.

It is one of the world's largest defence contractors, with about 74 per cent of its revenues in 2009 coming from military sales, according to published reports.

Lockheed Martin's products included the Trident missile, P-3 Orion spy plane, F-16 and F-22 Raptor fighter jets and C-130 Hercules military cargo planes among many other major weapons systems.

The company is a primary developer of stealth technology used in U-2 and SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, the F-117 fighter jet as well as the F-22 and F-35 designs.

The corporation's 2010 sales from continuing operations reached $US45.8 billion ($A43.1 billion).

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