The issue here is not reverse-engineering a technology or purchasing it and replicating it. Many people would argue that it's inevitable.
What encompasses IP is not just technology though.
The concern is that there are foreign actors attacking businesses and doing much more than looking at technology. They are looking through financials for current accounts, revenue streams, customer lists, and pending contracts. They are taking the source code from software companies and schematics from hardware companies. They are effectively acquiring all the information necessary to replace those businesses, often without knowing what they have, and selling it higher up the food chain.
This particular actor in the article looks like really low hanging fruit compared to what other companies are warning they are being attacked by.
What encompasses IP is not just technology though.
The concern is that there are foreign actors attacking businesses and doing much more than looking at technology. They are looking through financials for current accounts, revenue streams, customer lists, and pending contracts. They are taking the source code from software companies and schematics from hardware companies. They are effectively acquiring all the information necessary to replace those businesses, often without knowing what they have, and selling it higher up the food chain.
This particular actor in the article looks like really low hanging fruit compared to what other companies are warning they are being attacked by.