Speaking Tuesday, Michigan Republican congressman Mike Rogers called on Congress to consider steps to thwart Chinese government officials from continuing spy operations.
“Beijing is waging a massive trade war on us all, and we should band together to pressure them to stop,” Mr. Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said during a hearing on cyber threats. “I don’t believe that there is a precedent in history for such a massive and sustained intelligence effort by a government to blatantly steal commercial data and intellectual property.”
“China’s economic espionage has reached an intolerable level and I believe that the United States and our allies in Europe and Asia have an obligation to confront Beijing and demand that they put a stop to this piracy,” he said.
Mr. Rogers comment follows In August, the Web security firm McAfee reported that it had traced cyber intrusions of more than 70 companies and government organizations to a single nation state, which many analysts concluded was likely China.
Mr. Rogers joined Maryland Democratic congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, ranking Democrat on the committee, who said cyber spies have stolen “critical defense files,” including details about U.S. fighter jets, missile systems and unmanned drones,” although he did not attribute those incidents to China.
