Owens Applauds DOJ Grand Jury Indictments of Chinese Hackers

Press Release

After reports that a U.S. grand jury in Western Pennsylvania has indicted five Chinese individuals, on 31 counts each, for cyber espionage against six American companies and stealing trade secrets, Congressman Owens offered the following statement:

"These grand jury indictments announced by the U.S. Justice Department are an important step forward in stopping the theft of trade secrets from U.S. companies," said Rep. Owens. "Many of these companies are worldwide leaders in their industry. These indictments are a good sign that the Justice Department is cracking down to protect the trade secrets of leading businesses that employ millions of Americans across the country."

Alcoa Inc., which maintains a facility in Massena that employs approximately 750 workers, was among the companies targeted by Chinese hackers. Unnamed companies in the Paper and Forestry industries, both vital industries that provide numerous jobs in northern New York, were also targeted.

"As long as hackers can steal and sell industry secrets from U.S. companies, thousands of jobs and the future of U.S. global competitiveness are at risk," Owens added. "This is more than a diplomatic or trade problem. The damage done to these U.S. companies can be measured in terms of jobs lost and jobs never created in places like Massena and the Adirondacks."

The U.S. Commerce Department recently announced temporary duties on steel products from China and several other countries for selling the commodity at unreasonably low prices. U.S. authorities also launched an anti-dumping probe recently into two Chinese container makers.

Rep. Owens has long fought for fair trade practices from China. He has pressed the U.S. Treasury Department, the government of China, and the U.S. House of Representatives on numerous occasions to put a stop to China's currency manipulation and unfair trade practices.

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