Spying has gone digital, and it has moved beyond just feeding a nation's intelligence and military. Countries including China and Russia are using economic espionage to massively feed off foreign innovation to significantly boost their own economies and, in turn, harm those of others.
Chinese intelligence agencies that penetrated Australia’s parliamentary computer network in 2011 may have been inside the system for up to a year and may have stolen emails that could compromise federal MPs.
By indicting members of the People’s Liberation Army’s most famous cyberwarfare operation — called Unit 61398 but known among hackers as the “Comment Crew” — the Obama administration has turned to the criminal justice system to reinforce its argument that there is a major difference between spying for national security purposes, something the United States does daily, and the commercial, for-profit espionage carried out by China’s military.
Let’s say you’re a cyberthief who just compromised hundreds of bank accounts worth millions of dollars. Congratulations! You're now the scourge of the global community. Now, all you need to do is get your hands on that money.