Canada’s Nortel Hit by Chinese Hackers for 10 Years

It was one of the biggest telecommunications equipment companies in the world, supplying almost 50 percent of the US market. Now Nortel is bankrupt and being sold off piece by piece. A recent internal investigation has revealed the company has been subject to repeated cyber attacks and infiltration of its systems for more than ten years. The attacks originated in China.

[Michel Juneau-Katsuya, Former Canadian Asia Pacific Intelligence Chief]:
"I was chief of Asia Pacific at that time, we went and spoke with Nortel and warned them that the Chinese were very interested in them."

The hackers stole the system passwords of seven high level executives, including the CEO, then embedded spyware deep within the company’s network. Former Nortel employee Brian Shields led the investigation. He told the Wall Street Journal the hackers stole technical papers, R and D reports and even employee emails since as far back as 2000.

Although the attacks originated in China, it's not clear whether they came from the Chinese regime, private companies or individuals. Canada’s former Asia Pacific intelligence chief says no matter who carried out the attacks, Nortel’s trade secrets could now be in the hands of the Chinese regime and Chinese companies.

[Michel Juneau-Katsuya, Former Canadian Asia Pacific Intelligence Chief]:
"What we need to understand is that there are no boundaries really between the Chinese government and Chinese companies. It’s a state controlled society."

As the appointed Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits the United States, there are several issues that are causing friction between the two sides. One of them is the theft of intellectual property, as well as cyber attacks on the Pentagon and other US government agencies. A US intelligence report released last year, cited Chinese hackers as the world’s most "active and persistent."