China targets Australia, US with economic espionage operation

The Morrison government has condemned China for an economic espionage operation against Australia as US charges two cyber-spies.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman (2nd L) speaks as (L-R) FBI Director Christopher Wray, US Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein and Assistant Attorney-General for National Security John Demersat a news conference over the spies. Picture: AFP.

The Morrison Government has publicly condemned China for an economic espionage operation against Australia as the Trump administration announced it had charged the Chinese spies who were responsible.

In a globally coordinated condemnation of China, the White House said two Chinese spies, Zhu Hua and Zhang Shillong, had breached the computers of more than 45 entities in 12 states, including Australia.

Industries targeted included aviation, space and pharmaceutical technology.

In a joint statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton took the rare step of naming China as the perpetrator of the crime.

“Today, the Australian Government joins other international partners in expressing serious concern about a global campaign of cyber-enabled commercial intellectual property theft by a group known as APT10, acting on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security,” Mr Dutton and Ms Payne said.

“The sustained cyber intrusions by APT10 were significant and focused on large scale Managed Service Providers (MSPs) — specialist companies that manage IT services and infrastructure for many medium to large businesses and organisations, both in Australia and globally.”

Peter Dutton and Marise Payne have accused China of economic espionage. Picture: Kym Smith.

The ministers said this act was in breach of China’s stated commitment in 2015 not to engage in cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information.

“When it is in our interests to do so, Australia publicly attributes cyber incidents, especially those with the potential to undermine global economic growth, national security and international stability,” the ministers said.

China has officially responded now to the US hacking allegations: Says allegations are ‘purely fictitious’, ‘extremely nasty’ and ‘severely damage China-US relations’. On the statements issued by Aus, UK & others condemning Chinese hacking, MFA says they are ‘deliberate slander’ pic.twitter.com/tGHtO9QGoE

— Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) December 21, 2018

In Washington today, the US launched a stinging condemnation of Beijing’s growing campaign to steal secrets, technology and military know-how in its drive to secure strategic and economic dominance of the region.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said China’s irresponsible behaviour was a threat to businesses around the world.

“Stability in cyberspace cannot be achieved if countries engage in irresponsible behaviour that undermines the national security and economic prosperity of other countries,” they said. “These actions by Chinese actors to target intellectual property and sensitive business information present a very real threat to the economic competitiveness of companies in the United States and around the globe.”

Federal prosecutors in New York accused Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions in a more than decade-long campaign to gain access to corporate and government secrets to aid China’s rise as a regional and global power.

It said the two men acted on behalf of the Chinese Ministry for State Security.

Prosecutors said the hackers targeted business, the US military and the Space Administration and obtained the social security number of more than 100,000 US Navy personnel.

“China’s goal, simply put, is to replace the US as the world’s leading superpower, and they’re using illegal methods to get there,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“The list of victim companies reads like a who’s who of the global economy.”

The condemnation and the indictments are part of a push by the US and its allies to hold China to account for its growing attempts to use cyber to obtain military, strategic, economic and technological secrets from the west.

It comes at a time of sharp deterioration in the US — China relationship with both countries engaged in a tariff trade war and rising strategic tensions in the South China Sea.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia