Intellectual Property Law

Beijing's Top Internet Spy Arrested

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

The head of the internet monitoring department of Beijing's Municipal Public Security Bureau was arrested on suspicion of taking more than RMB 40 million ($5.8 million) in bribes to help an anti-virus company defeat its competitor.

Yu Bing, whose bureau monitors e-mail and web usage in the country as part of China's Great Firewall surveillance system, is accused of taking money from Rising, an anti-virus firm, to frame an executive at its competitor, Micropoint Technology. A vice president of Rising has been arrested as well under suspicion of bribing Yu.

Yu and fellow police officers allegedly manufactured evidence against Micropoint Vice President Tian Yakui proving that he spread computer viruses and broke into a computer system to steal trade secrets. Tian reportedly spent 11 months in prison on the charges, and Micropoint encountered three years of obstacles to launch its anti-virus software. Tian was targeted apparently because he was a former vice president at Rising who left the company with Rising's former managing director to build Micropoint.

Micropoint is planning to sue Rising for an estimated RMB 30 million ($4.3 million) in losses.

Rising has fired back at the allegations accusing Micropoint of manufacturing the claims to ruin Rising.

Photo: Elizabeth Dalziel/AP

Full post as published by Threat Level on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).