Some weaknesses, already well-known to hackers, foreign governments and, most likely, jihadists, have been exposed in two areas: the Domain Name System that VeriSign oversees and the Border Gateway Protocol, which governs how Internet service providers and large networks exchange routing information.

FORBES: The Next Threat

And like Western firms' cross-border investments into Chinese banks, Goldman's ICBC stake never fulfilled its promise as a potential gateway to a much bigger slice of the investment-banking market.

WSJ: Goldman Sachs Selling ICBC Stake