A Chinese language nationwide faces a considerable stint in jail and heavy fines if discovered responsible of a number of extra costs associated to financial espionage and theft of commerce secrets and techniques at Google.
Linwei Ding, 38, recognized to colleagues as Leon Ding, is accused of stealing and transmitting again to Chinese language firms greater than a thousand recordsdata associated to Google’s proprietary AI work between 2022 and 2023.
It’s possible you’ll recall Ding’s story from March final 12 months when he was charged with 4 counts of theft of commerce secrets and techniques. A brand new superseding indictment brings extra costs this week: seven counts of theft of commerce secrets and techniques and 7 counts of financial espionage.
The story outlined by prosecutors reveals among the crafty methods know-how could possibly be hypothetically illegally transferred between borders, though it’s an allegation at this level.
Ding was employed as a software program engineer in 2019 and labored on the software program platform deployed in Google’s supercomputing datacenters, in keeping with the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week.
Particularly, he labored on software program that enabled GPUs to run extra effectively for machine studying and AI functions. Prosecutors say he was, subsequently, granted particular entry to Google’s confidential knowledge associated to the areas through which he labored: supercomputer datacenters, AI, and {hardware} infrastructure.
Regardless of Google deploying knowledge loss prevention mechanisms designed to detect any suspicious motion of recordsdata, confidential or in any other case, throughout its community, it wasn’t till December 2023 that the corporate turned conscious of Ding’s alleged exercise.
Nonetheless, going by the allegations within the indictment, there could also be an fascinating method of circumventing these knowledge loss mechanisms. The indictment alleges that Ding copied the content material from Google supply recordsdata instantly into an Apple Notes doc on his company-issued MacBook, saved the doc as a PDF, and transferred that PDF to his private account.
The superseding indictment alleges that Ding started periodically copying Google’s AI secrets and techniques to his private Google Cloud account in Could 2022, claiming he stopped nearly precisely a 12 months later in Could 2023.
Prosecutors declare the commerce secrets and techniques spanned seven classes:
Inside specs and different particulars associated to the 4 major parts of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips
Design and operation paperwork associated to TPU chips, machines, and techniques
TPU software program design paperwork
Design and operation paperwork of Google’s GPU machines and techniques
Google GPU software program designs
Design specs used to implement a proprietary chip part to ship low-latency and high-bandwidth transfers of knowledge over large-scale networks on Google’s SmartNIC
Design docs on implementing software program associated to high-performance and cloud networking on Google’s SmartNIC
Round a month after Ding allegedly began copying these recordsdata, he acquired a job provide from a Chinese language AI startup, Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Know-how, to be its CTO with a month-to-month remuneration of round $14,800, plus bonuses and inventory choices, say prosecutors.
Ding traveled to fulfill Rongshu’s management in October 2022 and stayed there till March 2023, in keeping with the indictment, throughout which period he remained a Google worker but additionally participated in investor conferences for the startup and was offered because the CTO.
Days after Ding allegedly stopped lifting Google recordsdata, he based a startup in China known as Shanghai Zhisuan Know-how and acted as its CEO. The corporate touted itself as one which developed a cluster administration system to speed up ML workloads resembling these used to coach AI fashions.
The indictment additionally alleges that Ding efficiently utilized to the MiraclePlus startup incubation program and agreed to promote 7 p.c of the corporate to the incubator in return for capital funding in November 2023.
An organization doc allegedly circulated on WeChat later that month, claiming: “We’ve expertise with Google’s ten-thousand-card computational energy platform; we simply want to copy and improve it – after which additional develop a computational energy platform suited to China’s nationwide circumstances.”
Ding allegedly created a pitch deck the next month to use for state funding made obtainable to researchers, stating that Zhisuan’s product would assist the state obtain computing capabilities on par with worldwide requirements. An inside firm memo additionally allegedly said that the corporate would make its tech obtainable to the federal government.
It’s claimed that Ding by no means instructed Google about his work with both Rongshu or Zhisuan throughout this time.
The tried escape
Google alleges that it lastly clocked Ding’s supposed file copying in December 2023, when he’s mentioned to have copied extra recordsdata to a separate Google Drive account. Days later, it claims an organization investigator quizzed Ding about this and he claimed he was copying the recordsdata to maintain as proof of his work at Google, however had no intentions of leaving the corporate.
After signing a self-deletion affidavit, promising to delete the recordsdata he copied, he booked a one-way flight to Beijing from San Francisco set to depart on January 7, 2024. On Boxing Day 2023, he confirmed his resignation from Google, saying his final day can be on January 5.
In line with the indictment, Google turned conscious of Ding’s management of Zhisuan and its assembly with MiraclePlus on December 29. It promptly locked his company-issued laptop computer and revoked his community entry.
On the identical day, Google examined surveillance footage and claims it confirmed a distinct worker (who wasn’t Ding) badged in on the Google workplace to make it seem to be Ding was working from Google HQ whereas he was really in China. That worker claimed that Ding requested them to badge in for him whereas he was away.
Google’s safety individuals collected Ding’s firm laptop computer and cellphone on January 4, and two days later the FBI searched his residence, seizing varied gadgets. The feds allegedly discovered the stolen recordsdata on January 13, however Ding wasn’t arrested till March 6.
It is not particularly said in both the unique arrest warrant [PDF] or within the outdated indictment [PDF], however when FBI search warrants are issued for critical crimes, it is not unusual for passport restrictions to be utilized. Provided that Ding was arrested months after his escape flight was as a result of take off, it is possible he by no means boarded as a result of restrictions imposed alongside the search warrant.
“Right now’s costs are the newest illustration of the lengths associates of firms primarily based within the Folks’s Republic of China are prepared to go to steal American innovation,” mentioned former FBI Director Christopher Wray on the time of Ding’s arrest.
“The theft of revolutionary know-how and commerce secrets and techniques from American firms can value jobs and have devastating financial and nationwide safety penalties. The FBI will proceed its efforts to vigorously pursue these chargeable for stealing US firms’ mental property and most carefully guarded secrets and techniques.”
If discovered responsible, Ding faces a most ten-year jail stint and a $250,000 positive for every of the commerce secret counts, and 15 years in jail and a $5 million positive for every of the seven financial espionage counts. ®
