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No one from Zhengzhou Jinhui was available to address the CYBERsitter allegations, according to a person who answered the phone at the company.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said he had no information on the cyber assault against Solid Oak and declined to comment further. When Milburn’s suit was filed, Chinese officials said the government “highly values and fully respects the intellectual property rights of software.”

Six days after the suit was filed on Jan. 5, 2010, Milburn’s Los Angeles-based law firm at the time, Gipson Hoffman & Pancione, was hit with a cyber intrusion using e-mails similar to those aimed at Solid Oak but with different malware, according to the law firm. Forensics analysis shows that attack probably emanated from China as well, says Stewart, the Dell SecureWorks threat expert.

It had been clear to everyone that one motive for the attacks might be espionage related to possible legal action, Milburn says. If the hackers were able to steal documents or record conversations, they could preview strategies and negotiating positions, even identify legal weaknesses in the case.

No Chances
Milburn decided not to take chances with the lawsuit. Using techniques gleaned from talking to security experts, his small team developed their own ad hoc counter-espionage measures. Solid Oak and its lawyers exchanged legal documents using rotating webmail accounts or document-sharing sites like San Francisco-based Dropbox Inc., deleting the accounts after a single use.

Occasionally, Milburn drove to an empty house he and his wife owned in the hills around Santa Barbara. Sitting at the kitchen table, he’d make phone calls or exchange e-mails with his attorneys, alternating between four different cell phones from three different carriers.

The lawsuit seemed to trigger a more serious phase of the attack, Milburn says. Computer failures that had occurred a couple times a week now sometimes happened two or three times a day.