Former Google engineer convicted of economic espionage after stealing thousands of secret AI, supercomputing documents
Linwei Ding told Chinese investors he could build a world-class supercomputer
A former Google software engineer has been convicted on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of AI trade secrets after stealing sensitive company documents.
Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, stole thousands of pages of confidential information containing Google trade secrets related to AI technology. The jury’s verdict followed an 11-day trial before US district Judge Vince Chhabria.
"Silicon Valley is at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation, pioneering transformative work that drives economic growth and strengthens our national security," said US attorney Craig Missakian.
"The jury delivered a clear message today that the theft of this valuable technology will not go unpunished. We will vigorously protect American intellectual capital from foreign interests that seek to gain an unfair competitive advantage while putting our national security at risk."
According to the evidence presented at the trial, while working at Google between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding stole more than two thousand pages of confidential information.
He then uploaded them to his personal Google Cloud account in December 2023, less than two weeks before he resigned from Google.
Working with Chinese companies
Prosecutors said Ding secretly hooked up with two China-based technology companies and began founding his own technology startup, applying for a Chinese government-sponsored “talent plan”.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
This program was designed to encourage people working in research and development outside China to send their knowledge and research back to China in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives.
In a PowerPoint presentation that formed part of his application, Ding claimed that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”
The trade secrets he stole related to hardware infrastructure and software platforms that allow Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models.
They included detailed information about the architecture and functionality of the company's custom Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and GPU systems, for example, as well as its custom-designed SmartNIC AI supercomputer network interface card.
Ding will next appear at a status conference on 3 February and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count of theft of trade secrets.
“This conviction reinforces the FBI’s steadfast commitment to protecting American innovation and national security. The theft and misuse of advanced artificial intelligence technology for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China threatens our technological edge and economic competitiveness,” said FBI special agent in charge Sanjay Virmani.
“The FBI San Francisco division serves Silicon Valley and the companies who lead the world in innovation, and we are committed to safeguarding their work.”
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow ITPro on Google News to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, and reviews.
You can also follow ITPro on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and BlueSky.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance journalist writing for publications including the BBC, Private Eye, Forbes, Raconteur and specialist technology titles.
-
OpenAI sets February retirement date for popular GPT-4o modelNews OpenAI has confirmed plans to retire its popular GPT-4o model in February, citing increased uptake of its newer GPT-5 model range.
-
ITPro Podcast: Amazon layoffs and the return of XPSITPro Podcast This year's tech layoffs have just begun, as Amazon sheds 16,000 workers in one go
-
90% of companies are woefully unprepared for quantum security threats – analysts say they need to get a move onNews Quantum security threats are coming, but a Bain & Company survey shows systems aren't yet in place to prevent widespread chaos
-
LastPass issues alert as customers targeted in new phishing campaignNews LastPass has urged customers to be on the alert for phishing emails amidst an ongoing scam campaign that encourages users to backup vaults.
-
NCSC names and shames pro-Russia hacktivist group amid escalating DDoS attacks on UK public servicesNews Russia-linked hacktivists are increasingly trying to cause chaos for UK organizations
-
An AWS CodeBuild vulnerability could’ve caused supply chain chaos – luckily a fix was applied before disaster struckNews A single misconfiguration could have allowed attackers to inject malicious code to launch a platform-wide compromise
-
There’s a dangerous new ransomware variant on the block – and cyber experts warn it’s flying under the radarNews The new DeadLock ransomware family is taking off in the wild, researchers warn
-
Supply chain and AI security in the spotlight for cyber leaders in 2026News Organizations are sharpening their focus on supply chain security and shoring up AI systems
-
Veeam patches Backup & Replication vulnerabilities, urges users to updateNews The vulnerabilities affect Veeam Backup & Replication 13.0.1.180 and all earlier version 13 builds – but not previous versions.
-
NHS supplier DXS International confirms cyber attack – here’s what we know so farNews The NHS supplier says front-line clinical services are unaffected
