> ...included industrial-grade software and confidential data stolen from the internal server of a cleared defense contractor... Not by Xiang Li himself, it's

> ...included industrial-grade software and confidential data stolen from the internal server of a cleared defense contractor... Not by Xiang Li himself, it's worth noting. So this particular example at least hardly supports the general conclusion you seem to be implying. > [Wronald Best]’s trafficking in cracked software involved not only stolen property but also stolen ideas. ... On the supply side of the equation, he was the one releasing MPD’s software into the “wilds” of the Internet by providing it to Russian Cracker, and assisting Xiang Li by providing detailed installation instructions. On the demand side of the equation, as a consumer, Best used stolen, cracked software to design and manufacture products for the military and law enforcement, without payment to the companies that created the software in the first place. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/CRACK99_The_Takedown_of_a_100_Million_Ch/M-1wBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22cracked+software+involved+not+only+stolen+property+but+also+stolen+ideas%22&pg=PT180&printsec=frontcover https://www.google.com/books/edition/CRACK99_The_Takedown_of...)