Alarm Over China Spying, Hacking
Former Counterintelligence Boss Says Losses Not Hyped
William Evanina, the recently departed head of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center, says Chinese espionage and covert hacking operations are costing America “around $500 billion a year in economic losses, just in the theft of intellectual property and trade secrets.”
The loss boils down to“$4,000 for every American family of four after taxes,” Evanina told SpyTalk podcast co-host Jeanne Meserve in an interview released on Thursday.
“So when someone says what it's not that big of a deal, I think American families would say otherwise,” said Evanina, who before his appointment to run the NCSC was a highly regarded FBI supervisory special agent.
Evanina also cited Chinese advances in cell phone devices and technology as a grave and growing national security threat.
“China currently has 55 percent ownership of the global smartphone [market], soon to have 65 percent in three years. That means they can listen and take data from every one of those phones around the globe.”
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