Won't tolerate govt-sponsored cyber theft: US

WASHINGTON: Reflecting concern about internet security, the US has said it won't tolerate government - sponsored cyber theft of trade secrets even as it brought cyber-espionage charges against China's five military officers for allegedly stealing classified corporate information.

"Government-sponsored, cyber-enabled theft of trade secrets and other sensitive business information for commercial gain is not something we can tolerate," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

In the first-ever charges against known state actors, the US yesterday indicted five officers of China's powerful military for serious cybersecurity breaches and allegedly stealing trade secrets from six American entities including Westinghouse Electric.

"Today's announcement reflects our growing concerns that the behavior that's been identified by China has continued, and it's not acceptable.

"It is in the interest of both nations to pursue cooperation and coordination on these issues. And we will continue to work toward that end in our engagement with China," he said.

"We will pursue our interests across the board in our engagement with China.

"But where we see significant problems, where we see a failure to play by the rules, we're not going to shy away from discussing that directly or publicly, or taking the kind of action that today's announcement reflects," he added.

The State Department hoped that the action against Chinese military personnel would not affect the bilateral ties.

"We expect the Chinese Government to understand that today's announcement relates to the law enforcement investigation of individuals who have stolen intellectual property from US businesses," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.

"We remain deeply concerned about Chinese government sponsored cyber-enabled theft of trade secrets and other sensitive business information for commercial gain. And again, this was specific to the actions of just a few individuals, and we hope that the Chinese Government can understand that," she said.