WHOI Statement on Recent Wall Street Journal Article

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution takes claims of a possible cybersecurity breach extremely seriously and continues to maintain the highest state of vigilance against all forms of network intrusion. Despite speculation published in a March 5 article in the Wall Street Journal, the Institution has seen no evidence of any significant security breach since the implementation of a robust cyber security system in 2015. Additionally, the iDefense report referenced in the article has not been released so the validity of its assertions and assessment cannot be fully evaluated at this time.

The Institution maintains an exceptionally robust, multi-tier network security system, designed, implemented, and tested in consultation with FireEye, one of the nation’s leading cybersecurity firms. The Institution also maintains a rigorous program of network monitoring and provides security training, complementing state-of-the-art hardware and software systems for threat detection, prevention, and elimination.

The Institution is in regular contact with federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies, regarding cyber security matters.

The marine science and technology community is relatively small and tightly knit. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution regards any threat to the integrity of scientific and defense work undertaken by this community as a matter of serious institutional and national concern.