China 'has taken the gloves off' in its thefts of US technology secrets
WASHINGTON - It was the great microchip heist - a stunning Chinese-backed effort that pilfered as much as $8.75 billion in patented American technology.
U.S. officials say the theft took a year to pull off and involved commercial spies, a Chinese-backed company, a Taiwanese chipmaker and employees affiliated with Micron Technology, a U.S.-based microchip behemoth.
Yet what Micron called "one of the boldest schemes of commercial espionage in recent times" is most notable because it's not unusual.
Beijing over the last two years has significantly ramped up its swiping of commercial technology and intellectual property, from jet engines to genetically modified rice, as U.S. relations with China have grown more acrimonious under President Donald Trump, according to U.S. officials and security experts.
"They want technology by hook or by crook. They want it now. The spy game has always been a gentleman's game, but China has taken the gloves off," said John Bennett, the special agent in charge of the FBI's San Francisco office,
