A Chinese national resident of Newark, California, has been slapped with federal charges for allegedly pilfering trade secrets from tech giant Google, specifically from their advanced artificial intelligence technology realm. Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of theft after authorities say he moved over 500 confidential files from his employer's network to a personal account, according to a release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
The 38-year-old, who was ostensibly toiling for Google as a software engineer, was said to be simultaneously moonlighting for two companies based in China. The charges allege Ding began to methodically upload trade secrets beginning May 21, 2022, continuing these periodic uploads until May 2, 2023. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized, "The Justice Department will not tolerate the theft of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies that could put our national security at risk." Attorney Garland added that Ding's actions were also a ploy "to fiercely protect sensitive technologies developed in America from falling into the hands of those who should not have them."
U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey stated, "While Linwei Ding was employed as a software engineer at Google, he was secretly working to enrich himself and two companies based in the People's Republic of China," and that Ding gave these entities "an unfair competitive advantage" by his actions. Ramsey's stern warning followed, "This office is committed to protecting the innovation of our Silicon Valley companies. To that end, we will aggressively investigate and prosecute the theft of sensitive trade secrets by insiders like Ding, particularly when the theft endeavors to jump-start illegitimate competition."
The purloined info was described as the nuts and bolts behind Google's supercomputing data centers, vital for machine learning workloads employed in AI insights. "The theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies can cost jobs and have devastating economic and national security consequences," FBI Director Christopher Wray was quoted as saying in the indictment. Ding's ruse included covert affiliations and presenting himself as a CTO of an early-stage technology company in China, which, according to the indictment, he founded and acted as CEO.
If convicted of the charges, Ding could be staring down the barrel of up to 40 years in the slammer and be forced to cough up $1 million in fines. However, it's important to remember that an indictment is just an accusation, and Ding, like any accused before the American justice system, remains presumed innocent until proven guilty. The FBI and Commerce Department's Disruptive Technology Strike Force conducted the investigation, while the Justice Department's National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California are bringing the prosecution forward.
