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It was an innocuous-looking photograph that turned out to be the downfall of Zheng Xiaoqing, a former employee with energy conglomerate General Electric Power:
According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment, the US citizen hid confidential files stolen from his employers in the binary code of a digital photograph of a sunset, which Mr Zheng then mailed to himself.
It was a technique called steganography, a means of hiding a data file within the code of another data file. Mr Zheng utilised it on multiple occasions to take sensitive files from GE.
[...] The information Zheng stole was related to the design and manufacture of gas and steam turbines, including turbine blades and turbine seals. Considered to be worth millions, it was sent to his accomplice in China. It would ultimately benefit the Chinese government, as well as China-based companies and universities.
Zheng was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this month. It is the latest in a series of similar cases prosecuted by US authorities. In November Chinese national Xu Yanjun, said to be a career spy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to steal trade secrets from several US aviation and aerospace companies - including GE.
Originally spotted on Schneier on Security.
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(Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday January 22 2023, @07:01AM (2 children)
If the USA actually succeeded in stopping all tech export to China the likely result would be China investing massively into their own development. Sure they can steal this turbine design, but if you manage to stop them then they will have to research and design their own turbines. And given their resources, very soon they would likely be better turbine designers than you.
It's the reverse of the situations with rare earth metals. China keeps the price high enough to bleed, but not quite high enough for anyone else to mine and process them.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 22 2023, @01:39PM (1 child)
They're already investing in their own development. They don't need to stop stealing because it works.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 22 2023, @11:03PM
It wrecks the culture. It's an admission that you can't do it. Thievery and cheating become the winning plays = corrupt shithole.