Chinese man jailed in US for stealing F-35 data

An F-35 fighter jet (AFP photo)

The US has sentenced a Chinese hacker to jail for partaking in the hacking of US military secrets concerning advanced American attack and transport jets.

Su Bin, a 51-year-old businessman, was sentenced to 4 years in prison by a US federal court in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday.

Su had admitted his involvement in a years-long scheme to obtain confidential details about the F-22 and F-35 stealth jets as well as the Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft.

In addition to the jail time, the alleged hacker, who also went by the names Stephen Su and Stephen Subin, must pay a $10,000 fine.

The Chinese national was nabbed in Canada in 2014 and extradited to the US.

A Boeing C-17 transport aircraft

In an indictment that dates back to August 2014, prosecutors alleged that Su used his China-based aviation and aerospace company that he ran from Canada as a cover to travel to America and help his two unidentified co-conspirators to steal the data.

He traveled to the US at least 10 times between 2008 and 2014 and admitted to sending emails to his accomplices that were based in China, the prosecutors said.

“Su assisted the Chinese military hackers in their efforts to illegally access and steal designs for cutting-edge military aircraft that are indispensable to our national defense,” said John Carlin, who is assistant attorney general for national security.

Although China has repeatedly denied hacking attacks against American military resources, Su has been long hailed by Chinese media as a hero.

“We are willing to show our gratitude and respect for his service to our country,” the Chinese newspaper Global Times wrote in March. “On the secret battlefield without gunpowder, China needs special agents to gather secrets from the US.”

Su’s conviction comes shortly after Kan Chen, another alleged Chinese spy, received a 30-month prison sentence in America over charges of smuggling military equipment to his homeland.

Washington has on different occasions threatened Beijing with retaliation for what it calls attempted cyber espionage.

Last December, the two geopolitical rivals reached an agreement to expand cooperation on stopping the attacks.


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