Bill > S2384

This bill, titled the Deter Cyber Theft Act of 2014, requires the President to identify and report on foreign countries engaging in economic or industrial espionage in cyberspace against United States trade secrets or proprietary information, which includes confidential business information and technical data. The President must create a "watch list" of such countries and a "priority watch list" for those engaging in the most egregious activities. The bill also empowers the President to impose sanctions, which are penalties like blocking financial transactions, on foreign individuals or entities that knowingly benefit from this type of cyber theft, though sanctions on importing goods are excluded. Economic or industrial espionage is defined broadly to include stealing, copying, or knowingly possessing stolen trade secrets or proprietary information. The bill defines "cyberspace" as the interconnected network of information technology, including the internet and computer systems.