Tech

US Could Up Ante Against China In Cyber War

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Steve Ambrose Contributor
Font Size:

President Barack Obama may soon implement economic sanctions against Chinese industries that receive commercial advantages from hacking American corporations and stealing information after issuing an executive order Apr. 1.

Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping Sept. 16, Obama said “we understand traditional intelligence-gathering functions,” however that “is fundamentally different from [the Chinese] government or its proxies engaging directly in industrial espionage and stealing trade secrets, stealing proprietary information from companies. That we consider an act of aggression that has to stop.”

Unidentified Financial Times sources alleged three state-owned Chinese companies — Chinalco, Baosteel and SNPTC — received benefits from a cyber attack on American businesses. The sources are familiar with the indictment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army officers last year.

A spokesman for Chinalco, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers, told the Financial Times, he is unaware of cybertheft allegations against his company.

A representative for Baosteel, a producer of iron and steel, said it had no knowledge of the espionage incident and rejected the accusations against the company.

The major American corporations hacked were Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, SolarWorld subsidiaries, US Steel, and Westinghouse Electric.

Follow Steve Ambrose on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.