US urges China to halt hacking spree

The White House has called on Beijing to put an end to the wave of cyber-attacks on American interests and to start cooperating on a framework for Internet security regulations.

In a speech on Monday President Obama’s national security adviser Tom Donilon implored China to stop hackers within its borders from engaging in industrial espionage and breaking into US computer systems.

“The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country,” Donilon said in the New York speech, stressing that online spying damages international economic ties, especially as cyber-security is becoming a “growing challenge” to the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

“US businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale,” Donilon said in prepared remarks for the speech made at the Asia Society, a New York think tank.

Donilon also mentioned that Washington has urged China to acknowledge the "urgency and scope" of the threat and to take "serious steps" to stop the attacks, asking the Chinese government to engage in a dialogue to establish norms in cyberspace.

“From the president on down, this has become a key point of concern and discussion with China at all levels of our governments,” Donilon said, adding that US hopes China will engage in a “constructive, direct dialogue to establish acceptable norms of behavior in cyberspace.”

The two countries have long been pointing fingers at each other, trading accusations of online spying.

In February, the White House revealed its strategy to combat the theft of trade secrets. Among the tools at its disposal, the administration said it would use “trade policy tools” to enforce intellectual property laws and to compel other nations to stop breaking into US computer networks.

more here: http://rt.com/usa/us-urges-china-stop-hacking-123/