A Chinese national was sentenced Wednesday to nearly four years in prison for plotting with Chinese military officers to hack computers belonging to U.S. defense contractors such as Boeing Co. and obtain trade secrets involving designs of American military aircraft.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ordered Su Bin, a 51-year-old man who is also known as Stephen Subin and Stephen Su, to pay a $10,000 fine.

Bin, who operated an aviation and aerospace company in Canada, pleaded guilty March 23 to a federal conspiracy charge of gaining unauthorized access to a protected computer. He was arrested in British Columbia in 2014, and he waived extradition to the U.S. in February 2016.

Starting in 2008 and continuing until 2014, Bin informed military officers in China about what sites to hack and which files to steal, and he advised his co-conspirators on which information was significant, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.


Bin did not get any money from the scheme, but he admitted that he entered into the plot in order to profit.

One of the companies targeted in the conspiracy was Chicago-based Boeing, whose computer servers in Orange County stored detailed files on the C-17 military aircraft. Bin admitted that sensitive military information was accessed on the servers and sent to China, according to a plea agreement filed in the Central District of California.

Bin and his co-conspirators also handled data related to the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, both made by Lockheed Martin Corp., according to court papers.

As part of the conspiracy, Bin reviewed files and translated a technical flight test plan from English into Chinese. He and his co-conspirators also drafted and sent reports summarizing the information and technology gained from the hacking effort.


Prosecutors contended that although Bin may not have actually hacked American companies, he showed his conspirators which ones to target and what to pilfer.

“Su Bin’s sentence is a just punishment for his admitted role in a conspiracy with hackers from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force to illegally access and steal sensitive U.S. military information,” said John P. Carlin, the assistant attorney general for national security.

Defense attorney Robert J. Anello asked the judge to impose a 30-month sentence, arguing that the offense “was an aberration in a lifetime of generosity and kindness.”

Anello also told the judge that Bin would be “permanently saddled with this conviction” and pointed out that such a conviction would hamper his future efforts at doing business.


The lawyer wrote: “He is sorry for his actions.”

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.


MORE LOCAL NEWS

Crackdown on ‘Bay Boys’ surfer gang begins after years of complaints

Santa Monica convicts its first Airbnb host under tough home-sharing laws

Fresno police release body-camera footage of fatal shooting of unarmed 19-year-old