Here are the U.S. China Commission’s cyber recommendations

The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission came out with its biannual report today and as expected it had a whole section dedicated to China’s efforts at cyber, espionage, intellectual property theft and military capabilities. While most of the report’s contents on Chinese cyber efforts recap what has appeared in the media over the ...

By , a former national security reporter for Foreign Policy.
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46866_datacenter.jpg

The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission came out with its biannual report today and as expected it had a whole section dedicated to China's efforts at cyber, espionage, intellectual property theft and military capabilities.

The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission came out with its biannual report today and as expected it had a whole section dedicated to China’s efforts at cyber, espionage, intellectual property theft and military capabilities.

While most of the report’s contents on Chinese cyber efforts recap what has appeared in the media over the last few years, it does make three recommendations for action — the last of which urges congress to revisit the effectiveness of laws banning industrial espionage. As we all know, senior U.S. defense officials have been warning that China is stealing incredibly large amounts of intellectual property from American businesses every year via cyber espionage.

Here are the commission’s recommendations:

 

  • Congress should order a DoD report on how the Pentagon’s buying regulations allow it to ban foreign products for use in weapons "where there is a concern as to the potential impact of cyber vulnerabilities."
  • "Relevant Congressional committees" should conduct an in depth assessment of Chinese cyber espionage practices and report the findings in an unclassified format.
  • "Congress should conduct a review of existing legal penalties for companies found to engage in, or benefit from, industrial espionage."

John Reed is a former national security reporter for Foreign Policy.

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