Hacked: How China is stealing America's business secrets

[Transgress]

Sen. John Kerry is fed up with China's penchant for looting technology from U.S. businesses — up to $400 billion worth of data each year. When will it stop?
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 16, 2012, AT 3:52 PM

Chinese gamers at an internet cafe: Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) says Chinese hackers are illegally stealing business secrets from American firms. Photo: Imaginechina/Corbis SEE ALL 55 PHOTOS
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, slated to be the next leader of the world's most populous nation, is getting an earful from U.S. officials over China's shady business practices. During Xi's first official tour of the U.S. this week, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) accused a Chinese company of bankrupting a U.S. competitor by ransacking its software. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, alleges Kerry, implicating China in "cyber-attacks, access-to-market issues, espionage [and] theft." And, indeed, a flurry of recent reports indicate that Chinese hackers, backed by the government, are stealing business secrets from the U.S. Here, a guide:

What's going on?
American companies are the victim of an "onslaught of computer network intrusions that have originated in China," according to a report by the U.S. government's National Counterintelligence Executive (NCE). The report says China is trying to "build" its economy on U.S. technology, research and development, and other sensitive forms of intellectual property.

How is the technology stolen?
Consider the company Kerry cited: Wind-energy experts American Superconductor. Its biggest client used to be China's Sinovel — until Sinovel allegedly bribed an American Superconductor employee to steal his employer's software and give it to Sinovel. In the case of cyber-attacks, Chinese hackers may leave malware inside the computer systems of American firms, where the nefarious programs can go undetected for years, slowly bleeding companies of information.

Is the Chinese government involved?
Many experts suspect so, though China denies the charges. U.S. officials reportedly believe that a dozen Chinese groups are responsible for the bulk of cyber-attacks on U.S. companies, and that they receive direction from the Chinese government or military.

What impact does the theft have on U.S. companies?
It can be devastating. Some say China is stealing $400 billion worth of sensitive information a year. The NCE report cited the case of paint company Valspar, which lost $20 million, or one-eighth of its annual profit, after its proprietary information was stolen by a Chinese rival.

Are there national security concerns?
Definitely. Some hacked companies have contracts with the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies, putting classified information at risk. For nearly a decade, hackers had access to the computer network of telecommunications company Nortel Networks. If, as suspected, China was behind the breach, it likely gained valuable insight into the internet and telephone systems that government agencies, banks, and other businesses rely on.

What has the U.S. done about this?
Surprisingly little so far. Cyber-security experts are urging the government to show China that such acts will have serious repercussions. In the meantime, the NCE says China continues to be an "aggressive and capable" hacking threat.

ZzZzZzZzZ
Cry all day

 

[rcrmj]

funny clueless indians``lol

 

[Rusty]

My point still stands despite your attempt to prove otherwise.

Indian drug companies after the passing of the Indian Patent Act respect the patents protecting the original drugs, it is only after the expiry of 20 year patent period or any drugs invented before 95 (17 years ago from today's date), that they are allowed to make generic brands of. Again, the final approval in the country of selling depends on the approval of its local governing bodies.

So while it seems like India is playing by the rules, there are some countries who are rampantly trying to steal IPs and worse still trying to justify them.

Seriously?
You are okay with India STEALING IP for 35 years, but bash china for doing the same thing?
That's like a criminal getting his way for 35 years and then says "no no, its okay, I will play by the rules now"
And then expecting the world to simply forget that he was a criminal for 35 years while he points to someone else who did something wrong.

I don't know what else to call you but a hypocrite.

 

[Raphael]

Good, I hope this continues. In the late 19th century, USA and Germany both committed wholesale industrial espionage against the British Empire. Same with post-WWII Japan (or hell, even Meiji Japan).

History has shown us that closing the tech gap should be the first priority for a rising power.

 

[StingRoy]

Seriously?
You are okay with India STEALING IP for 35 years, but bash china for doing the same thing?
That's like a criminal getting his way for 35 years and then says "no no, its okay, I will play by the rules now"
And then expecting the world to simply forget that he was a criminal for 35 years while he points to someone else who did something wrong.

Good luck trying to divert the thread. But I will respond to this line of argument one last time unless you want to continue your argument on the topic.

There is a marked difference in "stealing/hacking" to get access to one's IP and accessing the components in a standard Patent Disclosure from USPTO. There is still a process involved in engineering how to manufacture the drug which is not shared in the Patent Disclosures.

Yes, what some of these companies did is probably wrong in some angle, but what negates my wrath is that the resultant was a boon to the millions of underprivileged around the globe who wouldn't have had access to live saving drugs at prices they could afford. I would equate this to nothing less than humanitarian/charitable work. After the Patent Law Act of India (2005), we are on the right track, while some others are rampantly trying to steal and beat their chest even today and refuse to hear or heed to any criticism against them...

There is no shame in admitting something is wrong, atleast that leaves some hope in the world. Try to move up the ethics chain buddy...

Peace out.

 

[Solomon2]

Nevertheless, I don't see how you can justify stealing software. Don't you have enough self respect to write your own?

Self-respect doesn't apply. As Chinese students have explained to me, by their standards as long as nothing physical is taken they don't consider it stealing.

At the same time, these Chinese students were frightened at the thought of their own creative works being "stolen". This led to some difficulties. For example, Chinese students who published the theses they needed for their degrees would then try to prevent people from reading the copies. How in the world did they expect to advance in their careers if no one could cite their work?

 

[Rusty]

Good luck trying to divert the thread. But I will respond to this line of argument one last time unless you want to continue your argument on the topic.

There is a marked difference in "stealing/hacking" to get access to one's IP and accessing the components in a standard Patent Disclosure from USPTO. There is still a process involved in engineering how to manufacture the drug which is not shared in the Patent Disclosures.

Yes, what some of these companies did is probably wrong in some angle, but what negates my wrath is that the resultant was a boon to the millions of underprivileged around the globe who wouldn't have had access to live saving drugs at prices they could afford. I would equate this to nothing less than humanitarian/charitable work. After the Patent Law Act of India (2005), we are on the right track, while some others are rampantly trying to steal and beat their chest even today and refuse to hear or heed to any criticism against them...

There is no shame in admitting something is wrong, atleast that leaves some hope in the world. Try to move up the ethics chain buddy...

Peace out.

You are just justifying your own theft.
The details don't matter, what matters is that you are stealing from the companies who spent millions of dollars to develop pills. And then India simply makes a law that say they won't honor patents, and makes cheaper copies for itself and the export market. The drug companies lost millions of dollars, which put some of them out of business.
You can't seem to get your head around this, but instead you are making excuses for it.

The absolute worst part is that, at least the Chinese know that what they are doing is not level. Indians, on the other hand, are living in la la land where their theft is okay, but other peoples theft is a crime against humanity.
Says a lot of about Indians I think.

 

[Solomon2]

at least the Chinese know that what they are doing is not level. Indians, on the other hand, are living in la la land where their theft is okay, but other peoples theft is a crime against humanity.
Says a lot of about Indians I think.

Yes it does. I agree.

 

[StingRoy]

The absolute worst part is that, at least the Chinese know that what they are doing is not level. Indians, on the other hand, are living in la la land where their theft is okay, but other peoples theft is a crime against humanity.

Lol... seriously? Did you even read my post... try again.

Meanwhile the stealing continues:
Chinese hackers took over NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Inspector General reveals | Fox News

 

[OrionHunter]

So what's new? The Chinese are known reverse engineering specialists!! From iPhones to the J-20!! They even tried desperately to get some stuff from the crashed stealth chopper in Osama's compound in Abottabad! They are experts at cloning and copying. Only their stuff doesn't seem to work as it should. And that sucks - for the Chinese!!

For me too! My Chinese clone of an IPhone died an inglorious death after one week flat!! Jeeez! Good hard earned money down the drain!! I ain't gonna touch these Chinese clones with a barge pole in future. They look good from the outside but are full of crap inside!! Sheeesh!

 

[Sonyuke_Songpaisan]

Maybe Indians are incapable of how to stealing technologies because of IQ

 

[shree835]

Nothing new in that Chinese are known for this...

Please have a look into couple of Chinese capabilities...Still they talks... they are ultimate Shameless guys.

China is World

How China Steals U.S. Military Secrets - Popular Mechanics

BBC News - German firms fear China technology theft

 

[trinity]

You are just justifying your own theft.
The details don't matter, what matters is that you are stealing from the companies who spent millions of dollars to develop pills. And then India simply makes a law that say they won't honor patents, and makes cheaper copies for itself and the export market. The drug companies lost millions of dollars, which put some of them out of business.
You can't seem to get your head around this, but instead you are making excuses for it.

The absolute worst part is that, at least the Chinese know that what they are doing is not level. Indians, on the other hand, are living in la la land where their theft is okay, but other peoples theft is a crime against humanity.
Says a lot of about Indians I think.

There is a clear distinction....when you have millions of poor ppl who cannot buy drugs that need to live it becomes an issue of life o death. India breaking patents was done to help such poor ppl in Africa and India. CHina stealing tech and other stuff, is clearly not related to life and death issues. I have no issus with CHina doing what it feels it has to do. In fact, I admire the ability fo their gov;t to be strong and steadfast, unlike the Indian gov;t. However, India has made a lot of friends while China's rise is viewed in a different prism.

 

[antonius123]

So what's new? The Chinese are known reverse engineering specialists!! From iPhones to the J-20!! They even tried desperately to get some stuff from the crashed stealth chopper in Osama's compound in Abottabad! They are experts at cloning and copying. Only their stuff doesn't seem to work as it should. And that sucks - for the Chinese!!

For me too! My Chinese clone of an IPhone died an inglorious death after one week flat!! Jeeez! Good hard earned money down the drain!! I ain't gonna touch these Chinese clones with a barge pole in future. They look good from the outside but are full of crap inside!! Sheeesh!

China do copy, reverse engineering and innovate, which India couldn't do at all.

You should have thicker pocket and buy better quality i-phone copy if you dont want to get junk copy that will died in several weeks

 

[qwerrty]

indians talk about intellectual property

india will copy what she can, just like every other countries. she's number 1 copycat in pharmacetical and is among the top IPR voiolators watch list for a reason.

INSAS (AK clone) rifle is an example of indian copy machine fails
AKASH (SA-6 clone) SAM is an example of a good working copycat machine.

India on 'Priority Watch List' in IIPA Special 301 report for copyright protection

RnM Team 20 Feb 12 19:04 IST

MUMBAI: India is on the ‘priority watch list in 2012’ of special 301 report on copyright protection and enforcement by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). In its submission to the US Trade Representative (USTR) as part of the annual Special 301 process, the IIPA highlighted those countries that failed to provide adequate and effective protection for US intellectual property.

The IIPA has identified India, China, Russia and Canada as well as over 30 other countries as some of the worst offenders for failing to adopt clear rules prohibiting services that are knowingly and intentionally operated to provide access to infringing materials.

The report was filed with the USTR last week and warns the federal office that numerous nations allegedly deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or that deny fair and equitable market access to US persons who rely on intellectual property protection.

As a response for these allegations, the IIPA suggested that the trade office take actions that range from increasing prosecution sentences for search engine operators, create legal incentives for cooperating Internet Service Providers and, in some cases, force foreign ISPs to block users access to questionable site altogether.

Among their grievances, the IIPA sites several popular file-sharing sites and torrent directories hosted internationally. For assisting in aiding in the availability of copyrighted material that could be downloaded online across the globe, the agency is asking the federal government to consider the countries in question with hopes “to reduce global piracy levels” and “aim to define and seek implementation of concrete solutions to significant commercial hurdles faced by the content industries of the United States.”

The result of the inquiry could prompt federal authorities to continue cracking down on non-US sites that violate American law.

In all, the IIPA recommends 41 distinct countries and territories for placement on a series of global watch lists that should be monitored due to concerns of copyright infringement. Elsewhere in the report, websites including Filesonic, *******, Demonoid and the Pirate Bay are noted in the submission.

Members of the IIPA include the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America. Both the MPAA and the RIAA websites were crippled last month by Anonymous in retaliation for supporting online censorship.

RIAA EVP-International Neil Turkewitz said, “This report identifies some of the key shortcomings in the global protection of intellectual property, and highlights key reforms that could—and...

*ttp://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/india-priority-watch-list-iipa-special-301-report-copyright-protection