Chinese government hackers have compromised the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines by 2020, according to American officials.

The breaches occurred in January and February, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The hackers targeted a contractor who works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a military organization headquartered in Newport, R.I., that conducts research and development for submarines and underwater weaponry.

The officials did not identify the contractor.

Taken were 614 gigabytes of material relating to a closely held project known as Sea Dragon, as well as signals and sensor data, submarine radio room information relating to cryptographic systems, and the Navy submarine development unit’s electronic warfare library.

The Washington Post agreed to withhold certain details about the compromised missile project at the request of the Navy, which argued that their release could harm national security.

The data stolen was of a highly sensitive nature despite being housed on the contractor’s unclassified network. The officials said the material, when aggregated, could be considered classified, a fact that raises concerns about the Navy’s ability to oversee contractors tasked with developing ­cutting-edge weapons.

The breach is part of China’s long-running effort to blunt the U.S. advantage in military technology and become the preeminent…

Iranian officials, in a first, have admitted to facilitating the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. by secretly aiding the free travel of al Qaeda operatives who eventually went on to fly commercial airliners into the Twin Towers in New York City, according to new remarks from a senior Iranian official.

Mohammad-Javad Larijani, an international affairs assistant in the Iran’s judiciary, disclosed in Farsi-language remarks broadcast on Iran’s state-controlled television that Iranian intelligence officials secretly helped provide the al Qaeda attackers with passage and gave them refuge in the Islamic Republic, according to an English translation published by Al Arabiya.

“Our government agreed not to stamp the passports of some of them because they were on transit flights for two hours, and they were resuming their flights without having their passports stamped. However their movements were under the complete supervision of the Iranian intelligence,” Larijani was quoted as saying.

The remarks represent the first time senior Iranian officials have publicly admitted to aiding al Qaeda and playing a direct role in facilitating the 9/11 attacks.

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Source: Free Beacon

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The United States has a responsibility to act to curtail extremist violence in Nigeria, religious freedom and human rights advocates from both countries said in a Capitol Hill briefing.

The June 5 event, sponsored by International Christian Concern (ICC), focused on a West African country that is by far the largest population-wise on the continent and is plagued by religious- and ethnic-based violence especially from Islamic forces. Among the 25 most populous countries in the world, Nigeria has the highest level of social hostilities, according to a 2017 study by the Pew Research Center. Nigeria ranks behind only Iraq and Afghanistan on the 2017 Global Terrorism Index produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

ICC’s Capitol Hill Policy Day followed by a week the release of the State Department’s annual report on global religious liberty. Sam Brownback, ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said in a May 29 news briefing significant progress has been made, “but for far too many, the state of religious freedom is dire. We have to work together to accomplish change.”

The world and the United States have a “moral obligation” regarding Nigeria, but it is also in their self-interest to alleviate the conflict, said Frank Wolf, a longtime advocate for international religious freedom as a congressman and now a distinguished senior fellow with the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative. “This is doable. This is the moment. There is the interest.

“I think this issue can be solved as long as we’re not dictating to Nigeria” what it must do, Wolf…

In a letter to Kim Jong Un, more than 300 human rights organizations, including top Christian persecution watchdogs, have listed the top six things the North Korean leader must do to improve his country.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, International Christian Concerned, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch are among those who are urging Kim to address the “dire human rights situation” in an open letter signed by 52 organizations, representing more than 300 nongovernmental organizations from around the world.

The letter mentions North Korea’s “new efforts to increase its engagement with the rest of the world,” such as Kim’s upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, but says that major reforms are needed in the Pacific nation if it is to truly make progress.

At the top of the list, the groups call on North Korea to act on the United Nations’ human rights recommendations.

“The DPRK has signed and ratified several human rights treaties in addition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the United Nations Charter itself, all of which obligate your country to cooperate with a variety of UN institutions and treaty bodies and require much more engagement from your government.”

Second, the groups urge Kim to increase intentional human rights engagement.

“End the use of forced labor in infrastructure and other…