Baker Institute expert available to comment on Chinese hacking indictments

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Baker Institute expert available to comment on Chinese hacking indictments

HOUSTON – (May 19, 2014) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that members of the Chinese military have engaged in the hacking of U.S. businesses and entities, including U.S. Steel Corp., Westinghouse, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, the United Steel Workers Union and SolarWorld.

This is the first time the U.S. has indicted foreign military officers residing outside the U.S. on such charges, according to Chris Bronk, a fellow in information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a former U.S. State Department diplomat who specializes in cybersecurity issues. Bronk is available to comment on this development.

“Evidence for the cases appears to have emerged from several U.S. companies in the steel and energy industries and likely represents a significant change in government-industry cooperation on prosecution of cyberespionage cases,” Bronk said.

Bronk holds additional appointments in the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies, Rice University’s Department of Computer Science and the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

The Baker Institute has a radio and television studio available for media who want to schedule an interview with Bronk. For more information, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

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Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Bronk biography: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/christopher-bronk.

Bronk on Twitter: @techpologist.

Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 15 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.