Following US indictments, Chinese military scaled back hacks on American industry

The Chinese military scaled back its cybertheft of American commercial secrets in the wake of Justice Department indictments of five officers, and the surprising drawdown shows that the law enforcement action had a more significant impact than is commonly assumed, current and former US officials said. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not substantially reengaged in commercial cyberespionage since then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced charges against the officers in May 2014, the officials said. “The big picture is that from 2014 on, the Administration pursued a much more direct and coercive approach with China, and it has produced results over time,” said Evan Medeiros, a former senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council.

In September, during a state visit, China President Xi Jinping pledged to President Barack Obama that China would not conduct economic spying in cyberspace to benefit its own companies. “China strongly opposes and combats the theft of commercial secrets and other kinds of hacking attacks,” he said. It is still unclear whether President Xi will be able to deliver on that promise. As the United States and China prepare for high-level cyber-talks in Washington Dec 1, some officials and private-sector analysts say there is evidence that China’s civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, continues to conduct significant commercial espionage operations