China ‘has taken the gloves off’ in its theft of US technology secrets
- US officials say Beijing over the last two years has significantly ramped up its economic espionage
- The spike in hacking is taking place after a marked lull in such activity during the last two years of the Obama administration
It was the great microchip heist – a stunning Chinese-backed effort that pilfered as much as US$8.75 billion in patented American technology.
US officials say the theft took a year to pull off and involved commercial spies, a Chinese-backed company, a Taiwanese chip maker and employees affiliated with Micron Technology, a US-based microchip behemoth.
Yet what Micron called “one of the boldest schemes of commercial espionage in recent times” is most notable because it is not unusual.
Beijing over the last two years has significantly stepped up its swiping of commercial technology and intellectual property, from jet engines to genetically modified rice, as relations with China have grown more acrimonious under US President Donald Trump, according to US officials and security experts.
“They want technology by hook or by crook. They want it now. The spy game has always been a gentleman’s game, but China has taken the gloves off,” said John Bennett, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office, which battles economic spies targeting Silicon Valley.
“They don’t care if they get caught or if people go to jail. As long as it justifies their ends, they are not going to stop.”