US Accuses Chinese AI Firms of Industrial-Scale Trade Secret Theft
US federal agencies stated that Chinese artificial intelligence companies have engaged in industrial-scale theft to acquire technologies from US multinational firms.
US federal agencies announced that Chinese artificial intelligence firms have carried out industrial-scale trade secret theft with the aim of reducing costs and bringing technology to market faster.
Joint Warning Report by US Agencies
The FBI, the National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a joint warning highlighting the activities of Chinese firms.
The published report stated that Chinese companies used a distillation method to extract proprietary capabilities and functionalities from cutting-edge US AI models.
Distillation Method and Grey Market Networks
It was argued that the distillation method, which is normally a legitimate research technique, is being used by Chinese firms for theft through voluminous and targeted campaigns.
It was stated that China-based AI firms utilize a grey proxy market known as transfer stations to bypass geographical restrictions and security measures.
Targeted Companies and Threat of Sanctions
US officials noted that some Chinese technology firms, such as DeepSeek and Alibaba Group, have been conducting high-volume information distillation campaigns against US companies.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that if these attacks amounting to intellectual property theft continue, sanctions and Entity List designations will be on the table.
Statements Made by Anthropic and Google
Anthropic claimed that three Chinese AI laboratories conducted an industrial-scale campaign to capture the capabilities of the Claude model.
Another report published by the Google Threat Intelligence Group stated that hackers have begun targeting proprietary AI models and source codes.