In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the behest of the U.S. government
Source: Washington Post
In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the behest of the U.S. government
By Ellen Nakashima and Adam Goldman October 9 at 8:06 AM
The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the U.S. governmentan unprecedented step to defuse tensions with Washington at a time when the Obama administration has threatened economic sanctions.
The action came a week or two before President Xi Jinpings state visit to Washington late last month. The hackers had been identified by U.S. officials as having stolen commercial secrets from U.S. firms to be sold or passed along to Chinese state-run companies.
The arrests come amid signs of a potential change in the power balance between the U.S. and Chinese governments on commercial cyberespionage, one of the most fraught issues between the two countries. For years, U.S. firms and officials have said Beijing hasnt done enough to crack down on digital larceny. Experts estimate that Chinese industrial hacking costs U.S. firms tens of billions of dollars annually.
In recent weeks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies drew up a list of the hackers the United States wanted arrested.
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