COMMUNIST FRONT CORPORATION: How Huawei Targets Apple Trade Secrets.

Not just Apple:

Huawei, which recently surpassed Apple to become the world’s second-biggest smartphone maker, has been at the center of a trade fight between the U.S. and China amid accusations by U.S. authorities that Huawei steals technology. In January, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment accusing Huawei of pilfering trade secrets from wireless carrier T-Mobile USA.

U.S. companies such as Cisco Systems and Motorola have made similar claims against Huawei in civil lawsuits. Earlier this month, Chicago-based Akhan Semiconductor, which makes durable smartphone glass, said it cooperated with a federal investigation into theft of its intellectual property by Huawei. Akhan claims Huawei used the prospect of a business relationship to acquire samples of its glass, which Huawei then took apart and studied.

The Justice Department said Huawei had a formal program that rewarded employees for stealing information, with bonuses that increased based on the confidential value of the information. Huawei employees were encouraged to post stolen information on an internal company website, and they were also given an email address where they could send the information, which was then reviewed by what was known internally as the “competition management group.” Huawei assured employees they wouldn’t be punished for taking such action, the indictment said.

Other smartphone makers have accused each other of intellectual property theft. Most famously, Apple successfully sued Samsung for copying its products. But the accusations against Huawei suggest a more brazen and elaborate system of seeking out secret information.

Beijing’s unspoken pitch to Western busines interests has always been, “We’ll steal less IP from you than access to our consumers and workforce is worth.” But they’re really pushing it.