The White House initiated a push on Monday for firms in the United States to better guard trade secrets from hackers. The initiative was launched not long after a number of individuals and business entities came under suspicion of economic espionage. The entities are accused of stealing intellectual property from American companies to benefit companies in China.
Major companies in America subject to the cyber attacks include IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprises. IBM reports there is no reason at this time to believe sensitive data has been compromised. And in a statement released by Hewlett Packard, the company says their priority is protecting the information of their customers.
The Security and Counter-Intelligence Agency Center is the national agency tasked with coordinating counter-intelligence efforts for the United States government. The initiative was launched by the agency once discovering companies in America are not adequately guarding against cyber attacks.
The nations of China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia have all been identified as significant threats to the cybersecurity of the United States.
William Evanina is a veteran agent for the FBI and works now for the agency. Evanina says it is important that corporate executives understand the full nature of these threats. He also says the agency is not instructing U.S. companies to not invest or do business with China. He says the message of the agency is to understand the risk involved with such business dealings.
The initiative sets its sites on trade associations across the country. A variety of informational materials have been produced in efforts to deliver the message to members of these associations.
One brochure distributed by the agency explains the methods hackers employ to compromise computer networks. The brochure also demonstrates how counterfeit social media accounts are made to trick workers at companies into revealing information. The brochure cautions members to research all apps before downloading and to be sure they update all software to fight virus and malware.
The first phase of the outreach by the agency targeted federal workers. This new phase was ordered once it became clear that information was being stolen from companies for the benefit of China.
There have been nine cases announced by the government since 2018 regarding hacked information benefitting China. This number includes charges against two hackers who allegedly stole sensitive corporate and government intel. The hackers are directly associated with the main spy agency in China.
Both the Chinese and Russian government have denied taking part in the attacks.
Dil Bole Oberoi
