A Chinese national is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a years-long hacking conspiracy that involved stealing sensitive military data from major defense contractors and sending it back to the Chinese government.
“Su Bin admitted to playing an important role in a conspiracy, originating in China, to illegally access sensitive military data, including data relating to military aircraft that are indispensable in keeping our military personnel safe,” Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said in a Wednesday release from the Justice Department.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2585156
Specifically, the 50-year-old aviation expert admitted to conspiring with two people in China from October 2008 to March 2014 to gain unauthorized access to protected networks that belonged to U.S. defense contractors. His responsibility in the scheme was to direct his conspirators to high-value targets, identifying who to hack and what to steal, and to translate the stolen documents to Chinese.
Su, who was extradited from Canada in February, has been implicated in the theft of designs for Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III, in addition to Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. Other data that was stolen included plans for the B-2 stealth bomber and the Space Based Laser, in addition to information from systems related to nuclear submarines and anti-aircraft missiles.
China in September pledged to stop engaging in the theft of commercial secrets from the U.S., but cybersecurity firms have not seen any decline in the number of cyberattacks from China. The Obama administration has taken the position that the U.S. must “wait and see” whether China will abide by its pledge.
Prosecutors hailed Su’s conviction as sending a message that they could find China’s hackers regardless of their location.
“Protecting our national security is the highest priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and cybercrime represents one of the most serious threats to our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2579650
“[Su’s] guilty plea and conviction demonstrate that these criminals can be held accountable no matter where they are located in the world and that we are deeply committed to protecting our sensitive data in order to keep our nation safe,” she added.
