The U.S. has laid cyber espionage charges against five Chinese military officials. A U.S. grand jury has indicted five Chinese military officers on charges of hacking American companies and stealing trade secrets. It has been the toughest action taken by Washington so far to address cyber spying by China. Reuters noted the first time the United States has filed charges against specific officials of foreign governments, accusing them of corporate cyber spying.
"When a foreign nation uses military or intelligence resources and tools against an American executive or corporation to obtain trade secrets or sensitive business information for the benefit of its state-owned companies, we must say, 'enough is enough,'" U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference.
Federal prosecutors said the suspects targeted companies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the nuclear power, metal, and solar energy industries. Targets included Alcoa Inc, Allegheny Technologies Inc, United States Steel Corp, Westinghouse Electric Co, U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG, and a steel workers' union.
American businesses have long urged the government to act against cyber espionage from abroad, particularly by China. Secret reports submitted by WikiLeaks to the U.S. State Department indicate that Chinese People's Liberation Army could be involved in spying activities.
China denied the charges, saying they were "made up" and would damage trust between the two nations. The Chinese foreign ministry said it would suspend the activities of a Sino-U.S. Internet working group. Skeptics said U.S. authorities wouldn't be able to arrest those indicted as Beijing would not hand them over. Still, the move would prevent the individuals from traveling to the United States or other countries that have an extradition agreement with the United States. Experts said the indictments would have some impact on those accused of hacking U.S. companies. So, the hackers named in the indictments might have trouble getting jobs in China's private sector when they move on from employment with the People's Liberation Army. Indeed, the U.S. government will frown on Chinese firms which employ former cyber spies.
Meanwhile, the While House has already made the first comments. So, Press Secretary Jay Carney stated that Washington is still interested in maintaining fruitful cooperation with Beijing. However, further cases of breaching cyber security should be prevented.