US cyber espionage report names China and Russia as main culprits

Online industrial spying by China and Russia presents a growing threat to the U.S. economy and its national security, the top counterintelligence agency said, abandoning the caution American officials typically display when asked to name the countries they believe are most responsible for cyber-economic espionage.

Billions of dollars of trade secrets, technology and intellectual property are being siphoned each year from the computer systems of U.S. government agencies, corporations and research institutions to benefit the economies of China and other countries, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive said. The hackers come from many countries and range from foreign intelligence services to corporations to criminals, according to the report, but the report —titled Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace—leaves no doubt as to who are the most intent on stealing secrets. “Chinese actors are the world’s most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage,” the report states. In addition, it says, “Russia’s intelligence services are conducting a range of activities to collect economic information and technology from U.S. targets.”