Question

Over the past five years, a highly sophisticated team of operatives have stealthily infiltrated more than 70 U.S. corporations and organizations to steal priceless company secrets. They did it without ever setting foot in any victim's office. . . . This is the new face of corporate espionage. Thieves whose identities are safely obscured by digital trade-craft rather than a ski mask, are robbing companies of the ideas that are the source of American ingenuity. . . . Though this new corporate espionage is rampant and rising, calculating the damage to U.S. interests remains difficult. . . . In the aggregate, the theft of this property, including everything from sensitive defense technology to innovative industrial designs, insidiously erodes government and corporate competitive advantages among global peers. . . . U.S. companies invest considerable time and money in researching and developing new products, only to be undercut by competition, using their stolen property to make cheaper versions. Unfortunately, companies experience such losses every day . . . Yet many cyber-intrusions could be prevented by implementing sound cyber-security practices. U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson, The New Face of Corporate Espionage, March 9, 2012 Using this information, what role does cyberespionage play in global trading?

A. Cyberespionage enhances international cooperation and trade.

B. Cyberespionage has no impact on global trading.

C. Cyberespionage undermines fair competition and trade by stealing intellectual property.

D. Cyberespionage contributes to a more secure and transparent global trading environment.

Answer 1

Cyberespionage undermines fair competition and trade by stealing intellectual property.

Step-by-step explanation:

The role cyberespionage plays in global trading is that it undermines fair competition and trade by stealing intellectual property. As mentioned in the provided information, highly sophisticated operatives infiltrate corporations and organizations to steal valuable company secrets without physically being present. This theft of sensitive information can lead to competitive disadvantages and the creation of cheaper versions of stolen products by competitors, which ultimately harms U.S. companies and their global trading relationships.