From: War on the Rocks
Since the computerization of modern business, intellectual property (IP) theft in the U.S. has escalated to unprecedented levels. According to the former commander of the U.S. Cyber Command General Keith Alexander, the approximate economic loss to the U.S. amounts to $300 billion per annum. In a poignant statement to Congress, he referred to the escalating and widespread theft of U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property as “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.”
The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) accounts for 70% of industrial espionage activities in the U.S., affecting the automotive industry, aviation, industrial chemical, consumer electronics, software, electronic trading, pharmaceuticals, and defense technologies. Unlike the threats posed by other foreign-states, the theft of intellectual property by the PRC is a vertically integrated operation. All levels of government and business are involved in these activities.
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It is obvious to anyone that without legislated due-diligence for computer security, most firms will not employ anything but the minimal industry standard security on their networks. Unfortunately even organizations who do employ the so-called “industry standards” are only combating the most basic adversaries with minimal resources. Until organizations begin to develop effective counter-espionage strategies, and begin to do their due-diligence on the strategies of their partners, the threat of IP theft will continue to grow. The future of counter-espionage strategies in American business has to begin with the adoption of cryptographic security procedures for document storage and communication as well as role based access control on proprietary data and documents…..
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