On this Special Edition podcast, Dave Bittner speaks with guest Dave Hickton, Founding Director, Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security at the University of Pittsburgh, and former US Attorney, on this 10th Anniversary of the first indictment of Chinese PLA actors. Hear directly from Mr. Hickton what lead to the indictment, the emotions that went along with this unprecedented action, and the legacy of the event.

On May 19, 2014, a grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries. 

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to hack into American entities, to maintain unauthorized access to their computers and to steal information from those entities that would be useful to their competitors in China, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In some cases, it alleges, the conspirators stole trade secrets that would have been particularly beneficial to Chinese companies at the time they were stolen. In other cases, it alleges, the conspirators also stole sensitive, internal communications that would provide a competitor, or an adversary in litigation, with insight into the strategy and vulnerabilities of the American entity.

US Attorney Dave Hickton represented the Western District of Pennsylvania and was the signatory on the indictment. His team worked with the FBI Cyber Team in Pittsburgh, PA to bring about this historic action.

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