14 DAY TRIAL // On Tuesday, United States Senators Carl Levin, D-Mich.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; and Tom Coburn, R-Okla introduced a new bill aimed at combating the theft of intellectual property from US organizations.
The legislation, called the Deter Cyber Theft Act, would require the Director of National Intelligence to compile an annual report on foreign economic and industrial espionage.
The report would include a list of countries that engage in such activities against US entities, a list of targeted US technologies, a list of items that can be produced using the stolen information, and details of espionage activities carried out by foreign countries.
If the bill passes, the report will also include a list of foreign companies that might benefit from the stolen information, and the actions taken to combat cyber espionage.
“It is time that we fought back to protect American businesses and American innovation,” said Levin, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“We need to call out those who are responsible for cyber theft and empower the president to hit the thieves where it hurts most – in their wallets, by blocking imports of products or from companies that benefit from this theft.”
In addition to the report, the Deter Cyber Theft Act would also require the president to block import of products developed with the aid of technology stolen from the US.
“Some foreign governments, businesses and state-owned enterprises are today using cyber espionage to steal American intellectual property and rob U.S. ingenuity and innovation in order to gain competitive advantage,” McCain said.
“This kills American jobs, undermines the competitiveness of our businesses and compromises U.S. economic and national security interests, and it must stop now. This bill provides the President with the authority to target those who are attempting to unfairly and illegally benefit from cyber crime at the expense of America’s interests.”
The proposal comes shortly after a report in which the Pentagon blamed China for cyber espionage campaigns against the United States. Chinese officials have denied the accusations.