Foreign spying against U.S. companies on the rise, FBI says
Driven in part by the global financial crisis, foreign intelligence services, corporations and computer hackers have stepped up efforts to steal technology and trade secrets from American companies, the FBI's top spy hunter told Congress on Thursday.
A related threat — illegal sales of U.S. technology — was highlighted when a major military contractor, United Technologies Corp., and two subsidiary units agreed in federal court to pay a $75-million fine for illegally selling embargoed software and components to China that the country used to build a sophisticated attack helicopter called the Z-10.
U.S. officials said Thursday that the fine and other penalties would settle criminal and administrative charges against United Technologies, which is based in Hartford, Conn., and its subsidiaries, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand. The U.S. prohibits the exporting to China of U.S. military equipment and technology.
