A shadowy group of computer hackers has apparently successfully broken into a U.S. Ministry of Defense computer system that controls military satellites, officials and security experts said. The group, calling itself MOD or Masters of Downloading, has proof of its electronic snooping - secret files allegedly pirated from the Defense Information Systems Network, computer security expert John Vranesevich said. Lt. Col. Tom Begines, a Defense Department spokesman, said military officials were "aware of the intrusion and looking into the matter."

(c) Reuters