Officials say unclassified U.S. Navy computers were hacked in recent weeks by agents working for the government of Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The intrusions represent an escalation in an Iranian cyber-espionage campaign against the United States. The news comes just as President Barack Obama and Iranian President President Rouhani spoke on the phone Friday, the first direct contact between leaders of the two countries since 1979.
Officials said no sensitive information was taken, but the incident caused alarm at the Pentago since the penetrations indicate a more sophisticated cyber-warfare capability in Iran than the country was previously known to have.
Iranian officials didn’t comment to the Journal, but the country has previously denied such allegations as politically motivated.