A Chinese businessman in collaboration with two Chinese hackers have penetrated into US computer systems and stole confidential information on the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets
F-35 fighter jet (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
According to a report on the Washington Free Beacon website, a Chinese businessman pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to hack computer networks of U.S. defense contractors and obtain sensitive data on military aircraft that was passed on to China.
Su Bin, also known as Stephen Su and Stephen Subin, reached a plea deal in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, following a 2014 criminal complaint and later indictment for illegal computer hacking and theft and transfer of export-controlled data.
The plea deal includes an admission by Su of conspiring with two people in China from October 2008 to March 2014 who broke into U.S. computer networks at Boeing and other defense companies.
The hackers stole large amounts of military information that was supplied to China, according to court documents and a statement by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.The case is the first successful prosecution of a Chinese hacker for stealing defense secrets.
The operation first gained access to some 630,000 Boeing computer files on the C-17 military transport aircraft technology in early 2009. The C-17 is the U.S. military’s main cargo aircraft. The data included details on the aircraft’s onboard computer. Other stolen files included data on the F-22 and F-35 aircraft, the military’s most advanced radar-evading stealth fighter jets.
The F-22 data included details of an unspecified “training component” on the stealth jet used to launch missiles. Other stolen data stolen by the Chinese spies included an unspecified “advanced United States military project” that the three men were attempting to steal blueprints and testing data.
Regarding the F-35, the frontline U.S. jet fighter being developed in both Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps variants, the Chinese obtained the “Flight Test Plan” for the jet written by a U.S. defense engineer.
Su was described in court documents as a wealthy Chinese businessman who owned a Beijing aviation technology company called Lode Tech. He was a permanent resident of Canada and owned homes in that country and China. According to court papers, Su worked with two Chinese hackers who “engaged in clandestine computer and network reconnaissance and intrusion operations.”
Michelle Van Cleave, former national counterintelligence executive within the office of the director of national intelligence, said the Su prosecution was a success but represents “a drop in a bucket that keeps getting bigger every year.”
“The Chinese have a sophisticated network of tens of thousands human spies and computer hackers targeting American military and technological secrets,” she said. “What they can’t acquire legally through trade, or creatively through mergers and acquisitions, they are prepared to steal. And it’s getting harder all the time to stop them.”
The two Chinese agents emailed Su with stolen defense contractor file directories listing data from U.S. and foreign company networks that China had hacked. Su then advised the two Chinese agents on which specific technologies to target from the companies. Su also sought to sell the stolen U.S. technology obtained by the China-based hackers to state-owned companies in China.
According to court papers in the Su case, the Chinese cyber espionage operation to obtain U.S. military technology used “hop points” for the cyber attacks in the United States, France, Japan and Hong Kong, and was funded with the Chinese equivalent of more than $500,000.
Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said in a statement that Su admitted to playing an important role in the China-based conspiracy “to illegally access sensitive military data, including data relating to military aircraft that are indispensable in keeping our military personnel safe.” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement that cyber crime “represents one of the most serious threats to our national security.”
Under the plea deal, Su faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 13.