
Report: Chinese government is behind a decade of hacks on software companies - valiant-comma
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/05/researchers-link-a-decade-of-potent-hacks-to-chinese-intelligence-group/
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forapurpose
If China was doing this with boots on the ground - with people physically
acquiring this information on-site - it would be a major international
incident. I don't quite grasp why doing the same thing over the Internet is
significantly different.

~~~
prmths
What makes you think they don't do that? Of course they do that. They even
send chinese women to seduce lonely pathetic FBI/CIA/etc officials to get
information. There was a huge story about it a few years ago.

But everyone does it. The brits, french, russians, koreans, japanese, germans,
saudis, etc all do it. Hell the nation with the largest spy network in the US
is our ally Israel.

The chinese are amateurs when it comes to spying on the internet or in the
real world. Once they get to israel's level, then you the media won't even
report on their spying and if they do, they'll make excuses for it.

~~~
forapurpose
> everyone does it

In this discussion of 19 comments, I count around 5, more than 25%, that say
some variation of 'everyone else does it too', but never with any support for
the claim. It's generally true of any discussion mentioning China, though I
don't have the precise numbers. The marginal value of these comments was low,
lacking any support, and is greatly diminishing with use.

~~~
prmths
> but never with any support for the claim.

Because it's well known and established.

[http://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/16/israel-wont-stop-
spying-u...](http://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/16/israel-wont-stop-spying-
us-249757.html)

[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-
intellige...](http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-intelligence-
also-snooped-on-white-house-a-1153592.html)

[https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/03/politics/germany-media-
spying...](https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/03/politics/germany-media-spying-obama-
administration/index.html)

That every major nation spies on each other is obvious.

Why do you think every major nation has a spy agency?

> The marginal value of these comments was low, lacking any support, and is
> greatly diminishing with use.

It's not everyone's fault you don't know the basics. What are you whining
about? That you are ignorant of what government and spy agencies do?

If people said all governments pass laws are you whine about how people don't
provide evidence of it?

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olliej
I very much doubt that China is unique in this.

~~~
zarkov99
China is unique in their institutional use of criminal IP theft as a state
strategy to catch up and eventually surpass the United States.

~~~
neom
Are they? As a Canadian I'm quite ashamed of the hacking my goverment did in
regards to Brazil. I'd presume Brazil is one of many.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
But that was not to rip off their technology. Not similar to what China is
doing at all.

I’m not making a moral judgment about which is worse, just pointing out that
they are very different activities and outcomes.

~~~
neom
We started with IP and now we're saying tech? Isn't IP IP, from a schematic,
to a internal price list, or an org chart? Surly hacking to get ahead is
hacking to get ahead, irrispective of industry.

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Pica_soO
Imagine there is one billion people- and they are deemed by their own
government so incapable of innovating tech - and so not in need of future IP
protection due to a lack of inventions, that such massive industrial espionage
is deemed a better trade off.

For a Chinese developer- this is actually the hardest insult somebody could
throw at them.

~~~
zarkov99
What trade off? They can both have internal innovation, which is hard, and
steal others IP, which is easy.

~~~
Pica_soO
You basically sacrifice all your rights to protect your own IPs if you go
around stealing from your neighbors. If a Chinese company invents something -
no matter how protected it is, i assume it would be one huge government
sanctioned feeding frenzy free for all.

I can already hear the negotiation starting with- well if you want your IPs
protected, all you need to do is sign here and here- and assure us our IPs are
protected to. Its the same eye for a eye logic governing punitive dutys.

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badrabbit
This is perfectly normal. As in, every country considers offensive hacking an
espionage operation,not different from hiring moles at those companies to
collect intel.

It isn't one way either,every developed country has multiple apt groups. What
China does against american companies,america does against british
companies,etc...

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forapurpose
Can anyone comment on the reputation of the researchers at 401TRG?

