5. Why do you think REI chose to work with IBM's data warehouse technology?
REI likely chose IBM because of their proven track record for working with customers of any size and scale. IBM is the safe choice for a company hoping to successfully implement data warehousing technology, as well as many other types of technologies. Now if REI plans to use any other IBM technologies, they will already have a working relationship with IBM.
5.1
Case 1 Cyberespionage: The Chinese Threat
1. What are cyberespionage groups stealing from the United States?
All kinds of intellectual property such as research and development results, business plans, designs of software and machinery, software, and other products of the mind (intellectual property).
2. What does the video claim is the evidence these attacks are coming from China? Is this believable?
The ISPs and the URLs of the attackers are located in Asia. However, it is possible that Asian computers are compromised and are being used by others actually located in Europe, or other nations. Nevertheless, it is difficult to dismiss the opinions of so many experts that the attacks are coming from China.
3. What does Adam Siegel in the video claim is the motivation of the Chinese government for conducting cyberespionage against the United States?
Siegel claims the Chinese do not want to be dependent on the West for technologies, and they fear falling behind the West, which in turn might slow their economic growth. China wants to move from “made in China” to “Created in China.”
4. Why didn’t Nortel management take the Chinese threat seriously? Why do various contributors in the video claim that American management does not take the problem seriously?
The video is unclear about this question. Senior Nortel management may have been more focused on near term business difficulties rather than cyber threats that did not seem immediately related to their business performance.
5. The video claims the attacks on American corporate and military computer systems are increasingly sophisticated. Do you believe this is true?
The attacks are overwhelmingly simple rather than complex. The most common vector of attack is through phony emails or Web sites that employees are lured into clicking on. Once clicked, the malware finds places to hide in ordinary software like Microsoft Internet Explorer or Excel spreadsheets. The malware will have access to the same information as the legitimate user of the machine. The tools available for creating and using this malware is readily available on the Internet.
6. Industrial espionage is a kind of technology transfer. The video claims the very DNA of Google is being drained by China, and that the U.S. will lose its competitive advantages with respect to China. Do you agree or disagree? Why? How else is technology transferred? Is it possible to stop technology transfer of any kind?
On the surface, the video is insistent that Chinese cyberespionage is a significant threat to the United States. Yet the video is vague about exactly what has been stolen, and how important it really is to the market success of American firms. Moreover, it’s one thing to steal an industrial process, or computer code, it’s quite another to understand it, modify it, maintain it, and actually use it in a realistic organizational and business environment. Technologies don’t stand still, and stealing a technology does not help you create a technology.
Stealing the plans for an F-35 strike fighter may shorten the development time for a country, but actually making an F-35 involves a great many complimentary assets and skilled people that cannot be stolen. Last, American and European firms voluntarily transfer significant technologies to China every time they decide to establish factories in China. The competitive and business advantage of China lies not in its treasure trove of stolen intellectual property, but rather an inexpensive, disciplined urban labor force.