A spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security has been convicted by a federal jury of plotting to steal trade secrets from several US&nbsp;aviation and aerospace companies, the Justice Department said on Friday.

Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese operative extradited to the United States for trial, was convicted of two counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage, in addition to a count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and two counts of attempted theft of trade secrets.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-doesnt-want-deeper-us-india-relations-taking-actions-to-press-territorial-claims-with-neighbour-us-426795">China doesn’t want deeper US-India relations, taking 'actions’ to press territorial claims with neighbour: US</a>

The ruling means Yanjun could face up to 60 years in prison total for all violations and fines totaling more than $5 million, according to a press release. He will be sentenced by a federal district court judge.

In a statement, FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler Jr. said the bureau was working with dozens of US&nbsp;agencies to share information and resources to combat operations by the People's Republic of China.

"For those who doubt the real goals of the PRC, this should be a wakeup call; they are stealing American technology to benefit their economy and military," he said.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/32-nations-to-remove-china-from-preferential-tariff-treatment-on-december-1-426551">32 nations to remove China from preferential tariff treatment on December 1&nbsp;</a>

Going back as far as 2013, Yanjun was accused of using multiple aliases to carry out economic espionage and steal trade secrets on behalf of China. Multiple US&nbsp;aviation and aerospace companies, including GE Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co, were his targets, the release said.

A spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security has been convicted by a federal jury of plotting to steal trade secrets from several US aviation and aerospace companies, the Justice Department said on Friday.

A spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security has been convicted by a federal jury of plotting to steal trade secrets from several US aviation and aerospace companies, the Justice Department said on Friday. Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese operative extradited to the United States for trial, was convicted of two counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage, in addition to a count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and two counts of attempted theft of trade secrets. Also Read | China doesn’t want deeper US-India relations, taking 'actions’ to press territorial claims with neighbour: US The ruling means Yanjun could face up to 60 years in prison total for all violations and fines totaling more than $5 million, according to a press release. He will be sentenced by a federal district court judge. In a statement, FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler Jr. said the bureau was working with dozens of US agencies to share information and resources to combat operations by the People's Republic of China. "For those who doubt the real goals of the PRC, this should be a wakeup call; they are stealing American technology to benefit their economy and military," he said. Also Read | 32 nations to remove China from preferential tariff treatment on December 1 Going back as far as 2013, Yanjun was accused of using multiple aliases to carry out economic espionage and steal trade secrets on behalf of China. Multiple US aviation and aerospace companies, including GE Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co, were his targets, the release said.

Chinese spy convicted of trying to steal US aviation trade secrets

A former software engineer for IBM in China pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing proprietary source code from the company, federal prosecutors announced on Friday.

Jiaqiang Xu, 31, pleaded guilty to economic espionage and theft of a trade secret before US&nbsp;District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13.

Leanne Marek, Xu&#39;s attorney, declined to comment.

Xu was arrested in December 2015 after meeting with an undercover officer at a White Plains hotel, where authorities said he was recorded saying he used the code to make software to sell to customers.

He was originally charged with theft of a trade secret. The economic espionage charges were added in a superseding indictment filed last June.

International Business Machines was not identified by name in the complaint. But a LinkedIn profile for Xu said he was employed as a system software developer at IBM during the period in question.

Prosecutors said the proprietary computer code Xu stole was related to a so-called clustered file system, which facilitates faster computer performance.

Xu, who began working at IBM in China in 2010, had full access to the source code before voluntarily resigning in May 2014, prosecutors said.

According to the criminal complaint filed in 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014 received a report that someone in China was claiming to have access to the code and using it for business ventures, prompting the investigation that led to the arrest.

The case is USA v. Xu, US&nbsp;District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00010.

(Reuters)

He used the code to make software to sell to customers

A former software engineer for IBM in China pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing proprietary source code from the company, federal prosecutors announced on Friday. Jiaqiang Xu, 31, pleaded guilty to economic espionage and theft of a trade secret before US District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13. Leanne Marek, Xu's attorney, declined to comment. Xu was arrested in December 2015 after meeting with an undercover officer at a White Plains hotel, where authorities said he was recorded saying he used the code to make software to sell to customers. He was originally charged with theft of a trade secret. The economic espionage charges were added in a superseding indictment filed last June. International Business Machines was not identified by name in the complaint. But a LinkedIn profile for Xu said he was employed as a system software developer at IBM during the period in question. Prosecutors said the proprietary computer code Xu stole was related to a so-called clustered file system, which facilitates faster computer performance. Xu, who began working at IBM in China in 2010, had full access to the source code before voluntarily resigning in May 2014, prosecutors said. According to the criminal complaint filed in 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014 received a report that someone in China was claiming to have access to the code and using it for business ventures, prompting the investigation that led to the arrest. The case is USA v. Xu, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00010. (Reuters)

Ex-IBM employee from China pleads guilty to code theft charges

economic-espionage

Economic Espionage, News on Economic Espionage, stories on Economic Espionage, articles on Economic Espionage, Economic Espionage stories at Wion, Economic Espionage news, Economic Espionage latest news