TIME

Chinese Hacking Charges Explained

Here's what the Chinese military was looking for and why

[video id=Xjo6ND0s ]

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that members of the Chinese military allegedly engaged in the hacking of American businesses, including U.S. Steel Corp., Westinghouse, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, the United Steel Workers Union and SolarWorld.

The 31-count indictment by a feral grand jury in Pennsylvania charges that the hackers stole trade secrets that would have been “particularly beneficial to Chinese companies at the time that they were stolen,” Holder said.

China’s foreign ministry has denied the federal charges, the BBC reports.

Watch the video above for the details.

 

 

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com


YOU BROKE TIME.COM!

Dear TIME Reader,

As a regular visitor to TIME.com, we are sure you enjoy all the great journalism created by our editors and reporters. Great journalism has great value, and it costs money to make it. One of the main ways we cover our costs is through advertising.

The use of software that blocks ads limits our ability to provide you with the journalism you enjoy. Consider turning your Ad Blocker off so that we can continue to provide the world class journalism you have become accustomed to.

The TIME Team