China hacked into Pentagon computer network

China's military successfully hacked into the Pentagon's computer network, raising fears it could disrupt the US defence department's systems.

The Chinese military's cyber attack was carried out in June following months of efforts. While the Pentagon declined to say who was behind the hacking, which led to the shutdown of a computer system serving the office of Defence Secretary Robert Gates, officials told the paper it was China's People's Liberation Army.

The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable the US Defence system quoted a former US official.

A spokesman for the Chinese defence ministry declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP on Tuesday. Reports of China hacking into German government systems were also raised last week between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. German weekly Der Spiegel reported that espionage programmes traced to the PLA had been detected in computer systems at Merkel's office, the foreign ministry and other government agencies in Berlin.