Ding was hired by Google in 2019 and allegedly began his thefts three years later. By May 2023, he had uploaded more than 500 confidential files and founded his own technology company. Google became suspicious of Ding in December 2023 and confiscated his laptop on Jan. 4, 2024, the day before he planned to resign. Google has referred the case to law enforcement after an internal investigation confirmed the theft of numerous documents.
Key takeaways:
- Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer, has been indicted for stealing trade secrets related to AI to benefit two Chinese companies, facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each criminal count.
- The indictment was unveiled a year after the Biden administration created an interagency Disruptive Technology Strike Force to prevent advanced technology from being acquired by countries such as China and Russia.
- Ding allegedly stole detailed information about the hardware infrastructure and software platform that powers Google's supercomputing data centers, including details about chips and systems, and software that powers a supercomputer.
- Google became suspicious of Ding in December 2023 and took away his laptop on Jan. 4, 2024, the day before Ding planned to resign. Google has referred the case to law enforcement after finding that Ding stole numerous documents.