US charges Chinese military officials with hacking

A US grand jury has brought espionage charges against five Chinese military officials for allegedly targeting six US companies and stealing trade secrets, publicly accusing China of cyber-spying for the first time.

The hackers targeted US companies in the nuclear power, metals and solar products industries to steal information useful to competitors in China.

The companies targeted include Alcoa Inc, United States Steel Corp, Allegheny Technologies Inc, Westinghouse Electric Co, and US subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG, US officials said.