Former General Electric engineer Zheng Xiaoqing, 59, has been sentenced to two years in prison in the United States following his conviction on charges of spying for China.

This is the second conviction in several weeks involving espionage that sought to gather information on the company’s turbine technology. When convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage in March last year he was convicted alongside Zhaoxi Zhang, who planned to take millions of dollars’ worth of GE trade secrets.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen said Zheng’s case was an example of “textbook economic espionage,” Then adding that “Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology.”

EX-GE worker jailed for conspiring to steal trade secrets for China

As espionage attempts are becoming more and more common, governments and companies should not overlook the importance of Technical Surveillance Counter Measures in security. Regular TSCM inspections ensure there are no eavesdropping attacks taking place within your business as well as highlighting any potential weaknesses within your security.

US officials have described the Chinese government as the biggest threat to the country’s national and economic security, with FBI Director Christopher Wray warning that Beijing seeks to steal critical technologies by “any means necessary.”

Beijing has denied carrying out economic espionage in the US, however recently espionage attempts from China were also found in UK government vehicles as a bug was found inside sealed parts imported from China.