Digital Conflict: China grows more proficient in cyber espionage

A recent spending bill that was passed by Congress contained language that prohibits any relationships “to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement or execute a bilateral policy, program, order, or contract of any kind to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company." Beltway insiders say the objective of this law is to stop the flow of sensitive information and intellectual property from the United States to the Chinese government.

It will take much more than just this law to achieve this objective. Theft of sensitive information and intellectual property increases every year. So what’s at stake? According to the World Customs Organization, the impact of theft on the global economy accounts for $500 billion to $600 billion in lost sales each year, or 5 to 7 percent of world trade. Within the United States, intellectual property-based businesses employ more than 18 million people with revenues that total over $5 trillion of our nation's gross domestic product, and represent 40 percent of U.S. economic growth. Another figure that really hits a sore spot in today’s economy is that U.S. intellectual property theft costs 750,000 jobs annually.

The theft of sensitive information and intellectual property via cyberattacks will cause the annual losses to rise. China’s proficiency in the area of cyber espionage is of great concern. One source stated that the relative ease with which cyber espionage activities are carried out is not only an economic concern but also a national security concern as well. The good news is that companies are waking up and beginning to take intellectual property theft much more seriously.