US Justice dept charges Chinese army officers in first-ever cyber-espionage case

The United States has indicted five Chinese army officers with hacking into private-sector American companies in a bid for competitive advantage.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the alleged breaches were 'significant' and demanded 'an aggressive response'.

According to the BBC, US prosecutors said the officers stole trade secrets and internal documents from five companies and a labour union.

China denied the charges and warned the case would harm US-China relations.

Holder said a grand jury had laid hacking charges against the Chinese nationals, the first against 'known state actors for infiltrating US commercial targets by cyber means,' the report said.

He identified the alleged victims as Westinghouse Electric, US Steel, Alcoa Inc, Allegheny Technologies, SolarWorld and the US Steelworkers Union.

He said the US government rejected economic espionage as a trade tactic.

In response to the charges, the Chinese government said its 'stance on the issue of internet security is consistent and clear', the report added.