Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The 1st one just normal spy business. The 3rd one is just some guy hosting a piracy website, which has nothing to do with espionage.

Your evidence for some grand scheme of technology theft doesn't seem to be well supported or justify racial profiling.



regarding the 1st link, not sure what you mean, espionage is espionage.

regarding the 3rd link

"The theft and piracy perpetuated by Xiang Li, 36, of Chengdu, China, included industrial-grade software and confidential data stolen from the internal server of a cleared defense contractor"


> ...included industrial-grade software and confidential data stolen from the internal server of a cleared defense contractor...

Not by Xiang Li himself, it's worth noting. So this particular example at least hardly supports the general conclusion you seem to be implying.

> [Wronald Best]’s trafficking in cracked software involved not only stolen property but also stolen ideas. ... On the supply side of the equation, he was the one releasing MPD’s software into the “wilds” of the Internet by providing it to Russian Cracker, and assisting Xiang Li by providing detailed installation instructions. On the demand side of the equation, as a consumer, Best used stolen, cracked software to design and manufacture products for the military and law enforcement, without payment to the companies that created the software in the first place. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/CRACK99_The_Takedown_of...)


The point is every country has spies everywhere, just go to nearest embassy.

Yes he operated a site that hosted cracked software. How does this support your narrative he was a spy or that it was espionage instead of for personal financial gain?

Let’s have a read of the first paragraph

>The individual operated a website used to distribute more than $100 million worth of pirated software around the world, making it one of the most significant cases of copyright infringement ever uncovered – and dismantled

Why don’t you quote this paragraph of your source?

>The investigation revealed that Li used the Crack 99 website to distribute pirated or cracked software to customers all over the world, including the United States

It’s a hard sell spinning this into espionage.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: