For more than a decade I have been highly concerned that valuable software intellectual property (IP), developed primarily by U.S.-based corporations, is being stolen by foreign corporations and governments for use in both military and commercial applications. As co-founder of an electronic design automation (EDA) company that developed software used for electronic warfare, guidance, and communications systems, I was well aware that foreign entities were using our technology with counterfeit licenses and that the illegal usage was a significant percentage of the total use of our products. Even though we attempted to harden our security, the crack licenses continued to flow all across the dark web. Sometimes the hackers would publish new versions before we had even announced the official releases!
