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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon spent more than $100 million in the last six months responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems, military leaders said Tuesday.

Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, said the military is only beginning to track the costs, which are triggered by constant daily attacks against military networks ranging from the Pentagon to bases around the country.

"The important thing is that we recognize that we are under assault from the least sophisticated -- what I would say the bored teenager -- all the way up to the sophisticated nation-state, with some pretty criminal elements sandwiched in-between," said Chilton, adding that the motivations include everything from vandalism to espionage. "This is indeed our big challenge, as we think about how to defend it."

According to Army Brig. Gen. John Davis, deputy commander for network operations, the money was spent on manpower, computer technology and contractors hired to clean up after both external probes and internal mistakes. Strategic Command is responsible for protecting and monitoring the military's information grid, as well as coordinating any offensive cyber warfare on behalf of the U.S.

Officials would not say how much of the $100 million cost was due to outside attacks against the system, versus viruses and other problems triggered accidentally by Defense Department employees. And they declined to reveal any details about suspected cyber attacks against the Pentagon by other countries, such as China.

Speaking to reporters from a cyberspace conference in Omaha, Neb., the military leaders said the U.S. needs to invest more money in the military's computer capabilities, rather than pouring millions into repairs.

"You can either pay me now or you can pay me later," said Davis. "It would be nice to spend that money proactively ... rather than fixing things after the fact."

Officials said that while there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence on the spending estimate, they only began tracking it last year and are still not sure they are identifying all the costs related to taking computer networks down after a problem is noticed.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that its vast computer network is scanned or probed by outsiders millions of times each day. Last year a cyber attack forced the Defense Department to take up to 1,500 computers off line. And last fall the Defense Department banned the use of external computer flash drives because of a virus threat officials detected on the Pentagon networks.

The cost updates come as the Obama administration is completing a broad government-wide review of the nation's cybersecurity.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

The Indian government plans to spend an additional $4 billion to boost the nation's slowing economy, the Prime Minister's Office said Sunday.

The government also announced targeted measures to help exporters, small businesses and textile manufacturers, a plan to expand mortgage lending and a cut in a valued-added tax.

It also said a state-run financing firm will be allowed to issue $2 billion worth of tax-free bonds to finance infrastructure projects.

"The government is keeping a close watch on the evolving economic situation and will not hesitate to take any additional steps that may be needed to counter recessionary trends and maintain the pace of economic activity," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Growth skidded to 7.6 percent last quarter - off from 9.3 percent in the third quarter of 2007_ and exports shrank in October for the first time in seven years.

India's ballooning fiscal deficit means it can do far less than a country like China - which last month announced a $586 billion stimulus package - to spend its way out of an economic slump.

Citibank said in a report Thursday that it expects India's deficit in this fiscal year will swell from 6 percent to 8.6 percent of its gross domestic product - far higher than the government's target.

The ripening recession triggered by all the overspending of the last five years has left retailers with a splitting headache--and the holiday parties haven't even started yet.

While early data for last weekend was mildly encouraging, a recent National Retail Federation survey estimated that 3% more consumers are already shopped-out, versus this same time last year.
How to ease the pain? For starters, understand that discounting alone won't get you there. Sure, bargain hunters abound: The same people who recently made investments as if they were on a spree are now approaching their shopping as an investment.
"People who used to love to shop now surf the net to find the best deal," says Mike Moriarity, leader of A.T. Kearney's Consumer and Retail Practice.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Cash strapped Christmas shoppers will have a tighter hold on their pocketbooks this holiday season, according to a national consumer survey released Friday.

U.S. households intend to spend an average of $418 on presents this year, down from $471 last year, according to a survey of 5,000 U.S. households from consumer research firm The Conference Board.

A lot of consumers just don't have the cash to spend said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Economy.com.

"Even the consumers who have the money aren't keen on letting go of it," said Hoyt.

"Everyone is telling me not to spend any money on them, because they don't have any money, so I am trying not to go out buying a bunch of expensive gifts for people not planning on buying me expensive gifts," Said Miriam Woodall, a shopper from Birmingham, Alabama visiting Atlanta on Friday.

Over the past several months, the economy has been slammed by tightened lending, trouble in the banking sector, and volatile commodity prices, in a type of crisis that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said occurs only "once or twice" every century.

The specter of unemployment casts a long shadow going into Thanksgiving week, millions of Americans have already lost their jobs, and a possible bankruptcy of The Big Three automakers threatens millions more, according to economists.

The number of people seeking unemployment insurance for the first time surged to a 16-year high last week, according to a government report.

"Obviously [consumers] don't want to cancel Christmas, but I think they're going to be a little more budget conscious this time around," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.

"Because of the economy the way it is today, I don't have the money I once had last year, so unfortunately I am spending less," said Victor Ross, a shopper from Elgin, Illinois.

Retail store traffic - the number of people going into stores - this year is expected to fall by 9.9%, according to a retail industry survey.

"It's going to take more than the usual discounts and incentives from retailers to get consumers to spend more freely," added Franco in a statement.

The slow holiday season has prompted many retailers to offer discounts early, before "Black Friday," the Friday after Thanksgiving traditionally viewed as the nation's largest shopping day.

Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), the world's largest retailer, announced a series of price discounts several weeks ago, with emphasis on electronics, and extended its free shipping program by a week to December 17th.

It's a retail environment that Brad Anderson, chief executive of Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), the nation's largest electronics retailer, called "the most difficult climate we've ever seen."

Just a week ago, one of Best Buy's main competitors, Circuit City, applied for federal bankruptcy protection.

The number of households who said they intended to spend more than $500 on gifts this year fell to 27%, down from a third last year.

About 39% of consumers said they would shop online for bargains this year, according to the survey, with books topping the list of online gift choices.

The percentage of people shopping online is expected to remain relatively unchanged from last year, according to Franco, but online retailers are still expected to work just as hard as their brick and mortar cousins to attract buyers this year, offering shipping incentives and discounts.

Spending drops in September while incomes slow

WASHINGTON -- Consumer spending dropped in September by the largest amount in four years, while incomes suffered because of Hurricane Ike.