U.S. Businesses See Uptick in Cyberattacks by Russia

Electronic economic espionage and the plundering of trade secrets via cyberspace are the subjects of a U.S. government report released Thursday. Chinese and Russian actors are the primary culprits, according to the report, and among their principal targets are U.S. companies whose business information and know-how are seen by foreign countries as "essential" to achieving their own national security and economic prosperity.

The list of proprietary information prized

Topping the list of proprietary information prized by these cyberspies are: information and communications innovation; military technologies for marine systems and aerospace/aeronautics; clean energy technologies; health care and pharmaceuticals information; and agricultural innovation. Business information about supplies of scarce natural resources or data that would offer foreigners an advantage in negotiations with U.S. companies and the U.S. government are as well coveted.

Chief executive officers and boards of directors have "key responsibility" for ensuring "that the protection of trade secrets and computer networks is an integral part of all corporate decisions and processes," the authors write. Together, the authors say, the company's legal officers and human resources officers -- and "not just security and information systems officials" -- are "key stakeholders" in those processes.

The company's firewalls

Economic espionage threats extend beyond the company's firewalls, too, when employees transfer or store data on "cloud sites, home computers, laptops, portable electronic devices, portable data assistants, and social networking sites." To boot, "e-mail remains one of the quickest and easiest ways for individuals to collaborate -- and for intruders to enter a company's network and steal data."