China exploits terror threat in West to gain access to foreign tech firms

China passed a new anti-terrorism law on Dec. 27 that critics say exploits fears of terrorism in order to extract sensitive information from technology companies.

Tech firms strenuously objected to the law that was unanimously passed by Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament. The new law states that telecom operators and Internet service providers must “provide technical support and assistance, including decryption” to Chinese authorities in their investigations into terrorist activities.

Hackers admit stealing data worth millions from Army, Microsoft, more

Two members of an international hacking ring pleaded guilty Tuesday for their roles in stealing $100 million worth of intellectual property and other data from the U.S. Army, Microsoft and several other technology companies, and two other people also have been indicted, the Department of Justice said.

“The members of this international hacking ring stole trade secret data used in high-tech American products, ranging from software that trains U.S. soldiers to fly Apache helicopters to Xbox games that entertain millions around the world,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Leslie R. Caldwell said in a statement.