Economic Espionage

First Foreign Hacker Is Convicted In The United States Of Hacking Crimes Involving Theft Of Trade Secrets From American Companies

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A 22-year-old Canadian hacker has been sentenced to federal prison by a Delaware court for engaging in a conspiracy to break into the computer networks of several large gaming companies, to steal trade secret and other information related to unreleased products, and to commit criminal copyright infringement.  According to the Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, David Pokora of Ontario, sentenced last Thursday was “a leading member in an international computer hacking ring . . . that committed numerous unlawful intrusions into the computer networks of various technology companies involved in the $22 billion-dollar video gaming industry.”  The conspiracy’s victims included Microsoft, Epic Games (which develops the highly popular “Gears of War” series), and Activision Blizzard (which published, among many other successful games, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3”). READ MORE →

POTUS Declares Cybercrime a National Emergency, Announces New Penalties for Trade Secrets Theft

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Declaring cybercrime a “national emergency,” President Obama today empowered Treasury to freeze assets that are the fruits of cybercrime, according to an Executive Order issued this afternoon. The agency can block money or property in the United States or in the control of any United States person determined to have engaged in “cyber-enabled activities” originating or directed from outside the United States. Targeted activities include harming computer networks in critical infrastructure sectors; significantly disrupting a computer network; or causing significant misappropriation of trade secrets and other protected information. The EO also enables seizure of money or property of any persons involved in misappropriating trade secrets by “cyber-enabled means” that impact the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.

TSW is tracking the EO and will report further developments.

Five Minutes With … National Security and Cybercrime Professor Ahmed Ghappour

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This marks the inaugural “Five Minutes With” feature that Trade Secrets Watch will run occasionally.  These will be question-and-answers with notable figures in the trade secrets world.

TSW got a chance to sit down with UC Hastings College of the Law professor and Liberty, Security & Technology Clinic founder Ahmed Ghappour.  He had a lot to say about trade secrets, cybersecurity, and encrypting “all the things.”
 
TSW:  Ahmed, TSW is dying to know what you’ve been up to lately in the world of economic espionage.  What’s the inside scoop? READ MORE →

Russian Perspective: Can Sending Confidential Information to Your Personal Email Address Constitute a Disclosure of a Trade Secret?

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Imagine that you are the General Director of a company (the Russian equivalent of an American CEO), and your information security department finds out that an employee, who you have long suspected of industrial espionage, has sent important confidential information belonging to the company to his personal email address. In that situation, what would you do? Would you (a) do nothing for the moment and wait until you have more definite proof of industrial espionage; (b) make the employee tell you why he sent the information to his personal email address; or (c) dismiss the employee? Clearly, you need to find out who the information is being sent to and maintain your reputation for enforcing the rules.

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Obama Administration Announces Cybersecurity and Privacy Initiatives

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On Monday, January 12, 2015, President Obama appeared at the Federal Trade Commission to announce the administration’s blitz of cyber security and privacy legislative and public policy initiatives, which will be discussed in greater detail in tonight’s State of the Union Address. The President’s proposals encompass a broad range of legislation, as well as collaborative efforts between the federal government and industry leaders. READ MORE →

Nosal Returns to the Ninth Circuit Posing the Question: Is a Password a Sufficient “Technological Access Barrier” Under the CFAA?

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Observers following the legal issues surrounding the prosecution of David Nosal will be watching closely in 2015 as the former Korn Ferry executive returns to the Ninth Circuit to appeal his 2013 conviction on three counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. READ MORE →

Justice Hammers International Trade Secrets Hackers

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A recent Justice Department reorganization of its National Security Division concentrates resources on fighting state-sponsored economic espionage and corporate theft of trade secrets. These strategic changes focus on Justice’s ability to target and prosecute hackers and others who seek to damage national assets by means including economic espionage, proliferation, and cyber-based national security threats.
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