[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]
List: isn
Subject: [ISN] Exclusive: Inside the FBI's Fight Against Chinese Cyber-Espionage
From: InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews ! org>
Date: 2014-05-28 9:27:05
Message-ID: alpine.DEB.2.02.1405280926510.20970 () infosecnews ! org
[Download RAW message or body]
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/05/27/exclusive_inside_the_fbi_s_fight_against_chinese_cyber_espionage
By Shane Harris
Foreign Policy
May 27, 2014
SolarWorld was fighting a losing battle. The U.S. subsidiary of the German
solar panel manufacturer knew that its Chinese competitors, backed by
generous government subsidies, were flooding the American market with
steeply discounted solar panels and equipment, making it practically
impossible for U.S. firms to compete. What SolarWorld didn't know,
however, was that at the same time it was pleading its case with U.S.
trade officials, Chinese military hackers were breaking into the company's
computers and stealing private information that would give Chinese solar
firms an even bigger unfair advantage, including the company's pricing and
marketing strategies.
SolarWorld learned about the hacking not from some sophisticated security
software or an outside consultant, but from FBI agents. In early July
2012, they called the company and alerted executives to a "persistent
threat, some kind of attack," said Ben Santarris, SolarWorld's spokesman,
in an interview. Persistent threat is shorthand for hackers who burrow
deeply into a computer system to steal information and spy on an
organization from within. The FBI didn't offer any specifics about the
nature of the intrusion, Santarris said, but according to a federal
indictment made public last week, the bureau determined that SolarWorld
had been infiltrated by hackers working for China's People's Liberation
Army, who were stealing private documents that would be valuable to
Chinese state-backed solar companies -- the same ones undercutting
SolarWorld's business. Armed with the warning from the feds, SolarWorld
tightened up its computer security, and in September 2012, the intrusions
appear to have stopped.
That federal investigators already knew SolarWorld had been hacked reveals
the extensiveness of the Obama administration's campaign, mounted almost
entirely in secret, to turn the tables on Chinese spies, who U.S.
officials say are responsible for nearly $300 billion a year in stolen
intellectual property and lost business to American companies, and who
have cost Americans jobs.
Interviews with eight current and former U.S. officials who are familiar
with the now years-long counterintelligence campaign against China show
that the administration has quietly waged a battle on many fronts. In the
shadows, U.S. hackers at the National Security Agency (NSA) have broken
into Chinese computers in order to find out what information has been
stolen from American companies and who in the Chinese government is
backing the operations. But closer to home, a team of FBI agents and a
little-noticed group of prosecutors at the Justice Department have spent
the past two years preparing to launch a more public offensive. This one,
which aims to bring criminal charges against foreign government officials
-- an unprecedented step -- relies on sophisticated cybersleuthing and the
cooperation of American companies, which are willing to work with federal
investigators and explain what damage they suffered as the victims of
economic espionage.
[...]
--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
http://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]
Configure |
About |
News |
Add a list |
Sponsored by KoreLogic