Linwei Ding, a software engineer residing in Silicon Valley, frequently made extended visits to his homeland of China, as detailed in court records.
This fact would be unremarkable if not for the revelation that during these trips, he was meant to be working full-time at Google's San Francisco offices.
According to legal documents, Ding had others use his badge to gain entry into Google buildings, creating the illusion of his presence at work.
However, prosecutors allege that during these times, he was actually marketing himself to Chinese companies as an expert in artificial intelligence while simultaneously pilfering 500 files containing some of Google's most critical AI secrets.
The FBI searched Ding's residence just days before his planned departure to China, leading to his arrest in March on federal felony charges.
He has pleaded not guilty.
This case underscores a persistent issue for U.S. economic and national security: the targeted efforts of Chinese corporate spies and intelligence agencies against America's leading tech firms.
Shortly after the Ding case was announced, prosecutors also charged the proprietors of a Chinese firm with scheming to abscond with battery secrets from Tesla. Additionally, a government cybersecurity board rebuked Microsoft for its "inadequate security culture" that allowed Chinese intelligence hackers to infiltrate the company's email software and access the accounts of the U.S. commerce secretary.
The Justice Department has also pressed charges against a Chinese engineer for stealing missile-tracking technology from a company owned by aerospace giant Boeing, and a Chinese national for absconding with Apple's self-driving car technology.
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently testified before Congress, labeling China's actions as a significant threat.
He stated that China is actively attacking America's economic security through wholesale theft of innovation and data.
Despite these persistent threats, experts note a lack of a cohesive response from both the government and U.S. corporations.
China denies any involvement in intellectual property theft, asserting that it has never supported such activities.
However, Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, contends that China has systematically engaged in the theft of America's economic and national security assets for decades, resulting in substantial economic growth for China while undermining industries in the U.S. and Europe.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party estimates the cost of Chinese intellectual property theft at $600 billion annually.
The case involving Ding highlights the significant damage caused by trade secret theft.
While Google initially downplayed the impact, it later acknowledged the theft and referred the case to law enforcement.
The stolen technology, representing 10 to 15 years of work by Google scientists, includes advanced supercomputing data center technology used in AI models like ChatGPT.
The indictment reveals that Ding circumvented Google's robust network security by copying data into the Apple Notes app on his company-issued MacBook, converting them into PDFs, and uploading them to a separate account.
This incident underscores the need for companies to better identify and monitor employees with access to sensitive information, especially when traveling abroad.
It also highlights the challenge of securing against threats from countries like China, which has strategies and policies that encourage intellectual property theft.
Efforts to combat these threats are ongoing, with intelligence agencies and lawmakers calling for more action to protect American businesses and innovation from exploitation.