Perhaps they were tracking scientists and technologists. Perhaps the hackers were looking for US agents or government figures. What did the hackers want? Once again, the concern was simultaneously the broad fear of surveillance and the precise fear of threats to national security. Only, this time, America is the superpower having its technological secrets stolen. As William Davies shows in his book Nervous States, 17th-century thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes established a novel distinction: 'A clear separation between situations of 'war' and those of 'peace'. This is what makes our present conflict different to the one Hamilton pursued against Britain. When every item in a hospital or a power plant is connected to the internet, a theft of intellectual property can evolve seamlessly into a life-threatening attack. Yet it is hard to distinguish one threat from another, because there is no substantial difference in the intrusions that make them possible. What do these countries think Huawei will do? The risk is not just that it will pass information back to China, but that it will give the Chinese government the ability to turn off the network with a flick of a button.

Germany, France, the UK and Canada are all considering similar moves. Australia and New Zealand have blocked local firms from using Huawei kit. The US has been pressuring its allies to ban the Chinese company from supplying technology to their 5G networks - and, slowly, countries are coming round. To see the change in action, consider the case of Huawei. Jeremy Hunt said the UK and its allies will expose hackers and 'ensure the rule of law is upheld' as two people are charged. UK and allies condemn China as US charges hackers over 'economic espionage'

Like so many other industries before it, state conflict is succumbing to digital disruption. Nations steal from each other - what's new about that? Yet something is different about this latest wave of thefts, beyond the tools used to perpetrate them. In one sense, this simply shows how little has changed. In December last year, the two agencies accused the Chinese government of directing a systematic campaign of 'economic espionage' against the US and its allies, burglarising its intellectual property on a massive scale.ДЇBI Director Christopher Wray told a news conference: 'China's goal, simply put, is to replace the US as the world's leading superpower - and they're breaking the law to get thereвЂ¦ they want what we have so they can get the upper hand on us.' Only, this time, the US is the superpower having its technological secrets stolen.ДЄccording to the FBI and the State Department, Chinese hackers are stealing the keys to the second Industrial Revolution.

Now, over 200 years later, history is repeating itself. Image: Alexander Hamilton sent spies to Britain during the Industrial Revolution

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