We have been reporting on the success of the Department of Justice in combatting cybercrime through prosecutions of hackers. But we never expected this. Following Chinese President Xi’s visit to the U.S., and for the first time in years, the Chinese government has arrested several alleged hackers at the request of the U.S. government. The hackers reportedly stole highly sensitive IP data from U.S. corporations. U.S. intelligence officials and law enforcement agencies apparently gave the Chinese government a list of hackers and requested that they be arrested, and lo and behold, several of them have indeed been arrested.

Whether they will be prosecuted or not will be seen. But baby steps are better than no steps at all in the fight against theft of trade secrets of U.S. companies.