Israeli Companies Suspected of Spying

[lovuian]

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Israeli Companies Suspected of Spying



An unidentified lawyer, right, speaks with private investigators Zvika Krochmal, second right, and Ofer Fried, second left who were both arrested as part of a police investigation of a computer espionage scandal, at Tel Aviv's District Court in this photo taken Thursday May 25, 2005. Top Israeli blue-chip companies, including a high-tech giant that trades in New York, are suspected of using illicit surveillance software to steal information from their rivals and enemies.(AP Photo/Motti Kimchi) Height (pixels): 349 Width (pixels): 512
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By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press Writer
It started out as a family feud. But a small-time computer break-in has erupted into Israel's biggest business scandal in decades, reaching into some of the country's powerful corporate suites and jolting the cozy world of the industrial elite.

Top Israeli blue chip companies, including a high-tech giant that trades in New York, are suspected of using illicit surveillance software to steal information from their rivals and enemies.

The list of victims is equally impressive, ranging from a cigarette importer to the local operations of the Ace hardware chain and Hewlett-Packard Co. Even a well-known TV entertainment reporter is caught up in the affair, claiming hackers invaded his computer to get phone numbers of celebrities.

The investigation has shed an unflattering light on the Israeli business world, where cutthroat competition in a small market, high-tech sophistication and the secretive traditions of the army form a volatile mix.

The case is also attracting the attention of top security software makers. Software firms in the U.S. have been updating their products to defend against similar outbreaks.
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Israel Companies have been busy!!!

[Coastie for Truth]

1. Only Israel? Don't think so.

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

The piracy prevention department at software maker Autodesk Inc. spends a lot of time on auction Web sites, looking for illegal sales of its products. One day two years ago, it began to notice that a vendor was offering an Autodesk $3,500 design program for $200 -- over and over again.

Autodesk sounded the alarm, setting off an international investigation that led to the arrest of 26-year-old Ukrainian Maksym Kovalchuk, reputed to be one of the ring leaders of a worldwide software piracy and computer crime organization.

Mr. Kovalchuk was nabbed in Thailand, extradited to the U.S. and now awaits trial in U.S. District Court in San Jose.

The arrest was a high-profile example of the attention that the Justice Department is placing on computer crimes. It brings to seven the number of computer crimes cases prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department so far this year. Fears that the department's preoccupation with terrorism would distract it from combating computer crime have largely been allayed, in part because terrorism by computer is one of the department's concerns.

Prosecutions for computer crimes have risen from 5 in 2000 to 25 last year, according to the Department of Justice. About a quarter of all computer crime cases brought by the Justice Department are prosecuted by the department's Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIPs) office in San Jose.

<snip>< Much more

Tech theft rises amid China ties Growing economic, security concerns San Francisco Chronicle

Four recent Silicon Valley arrests highlight the uneasy trade relationship that the United States has with China -- and prompt fresh concern over how easily the technology vital to the U.S. economy and national security can be stolen.

In one case, a Chinese citizen is accused of illegally shipping missile- guidance equipment from Silicon Valley back to China. According to court documents, the microwave amplifiers in question can be used to improve telecommunications sound quality -- or to target intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In two other cases, federal agents arrested suspects on their way to China- bound jetliners at San Francisco International Airport, including two engineers whose bags reportedly contained trade secrets -- the property of current and former U.S. employers -- for a new computer chip.

Experts warn that while federal agents make tracking down Islamic terrorists their top priority, foreigners have set their sights on U.S. military and industrial trade secrets.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg," said Steven Fink, head of Lexicon Communications Corp., a Los Angeles firm that advises industry on how to protect secrets. "Law enforcement is stretched too thin fighting terrorism, and the bad guys . . . see that it's open season on U.S. businesses. They can come in and just cherry pick the trade secrets they want."

<snip>< much more

THOUSANDS MORE - .

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And I didn't even mention IBM versus Fujitsu!

[lovuian]

2. I think its a free for all and being used everywhere!!!

Trade Secrets whats THAT???

[Coastie for Truth]

3. Tell Me

I live in San Jose ("The Capital of Silicon Valley") and work in "Technology"