Hacking has changed over the years. When I was a kid, it mostly referred to fouls on the soccer field. After I got a job, it was something bad journalists did. Now, it's US companies accusing China of hacking and vice versa - tit for tat in the realm of cyberspace.

While governments are bound to deny responsibility, post Cold War spy games and realpolitik suggest they would be remiss if they didn't plunder what they could and jockey for advantage with a few clicks of a mouse.

I mean, really. As if the Pentagon hasn't got an army of programmers eavesdropping on every keyboard click; there isn't an equivalent squadron of geeks in Beijing's Haidian district; or the individuals at Britain's cyber-crime unit in Cheltenham sit around all day drinking tea and eating biscuits.