China-US tug of war over cyber espionage
Beijing (AsiaNews) - China has rejected US claims that five People's Liberation Army officers engaged in industrial espionage and cyber-thefts, accusing instead US authorities of hypocrisy for placing the officials on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list (pictured).
In the indictment, the US named Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui. All five of them are officers in Unit 61398 of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's greatest electronic intelligence gathering centre.
According to the charges, China has targeted big-name American makers of nuclear and solar technology, stealing confidential business information, sensitive trade secrets and internal communications for competitive advantage.
The alleged targets are Alcoa, Westinghouse, Allegheny Technologies, US Steel, the United Steelworkers Union and SolarWorld.
FBI officials said that, between 2006 and 2014, the hacking caused "significant losses" at the companies. Overall, annual losses from cybercrime, intellectual-property theft from corporations and other costs could run as high as 0 billion.
In view of the situation, Washington will no longer tolerate attempts by foreign governments to undermine the American companies, Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Indeed, "The alleged hacking" by five Chinese officials "appears to have been conducted for no reason other than to advantage state-owned companies and other interests in China, at the expense of businesses here in the United States," Mr Holder said.
China responded immediately, denying the allegations. It also announced it is pulling out of the joint China-US of the China-US Cyber Working Group set up in April to stop cyber-thefts.
China also summoned the US ambassador Max Baucus.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said they were based on "fabricated facts" and would jeopardise China-US "co-operation and mutual trust".
Beijing slammed what it called Washington's hypocrisy because the US conducts widespread surveillance around the world, as revealed by Snowden.
It remains unclear whether any of the accused will ever be turned over to the US for prosecution, but the court case does underscore a long-time Obama administration goal to prosecute state-sponsored cyber-threats.
One government report said more than 40 Pentagon weapons programmes and nearly 30 other defence technologies have been compromised by cyber intrusions from China.
At the same time, "What we can expect to happen is for the Chinese government to indict individuals in the United States who they will accuse of hacking into computers there," said Mark Rausch, a cybersecurity expert.
Overall, the issue has to be placed in a broader context defined by the ongoing confrontation between the world's two superpowers.
Washington is increasingly critical of Beijing's behaviour in the East and South China Seas, where it is involved in a "war of nerves" with other nations in the region over islands, straits and offshore exploration rights.
Beijing, for its part, has accused the United States of shifting its foreign policy, turning to East Asia in order to repair the damage caused by a decade of "disasters" in the Middle East.
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01/02/2022 17:38
