It didn’t take long for the new year to kick off. At the end of January, a former Google engineer was convicted for economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Let’s discuss how the tech giant became a victim of an insider.

The story starts in 2019, when Linwei Ding started to work as a software engineer at Google. Three years later, Ding started to look for other career opportunities and began to download proprietary files to improve his potential prospects in the job market. He copied Google source files in Apple Notes on his corporate laptop and exported records as PDF files before uploading them to his personal Google Cloud account.

It is not the first case when a potential insider uses common business communication tools to steal confidential data. Often insiders transfer files to personal cloud services or portable hard drives.

The investigation found out that Linwei Ding was able to steal more than 2,000 pages of confidential materials from his former employer. Stolen documents related to the fields of AI, including a file about data center AI supercomputer data. The most sensitive documents covered orchestration software for AI workloads and SmartNIC networking technology.

Mr. Ding leveraged stolen files for personal benefit. The investigation figured out that there are at least two cases of misuse. Firstly, he shared exfiltrated documents to take the position of Chief Technology Officer at an AI company. In the second case, he founded his own company and used stolen files during meetings with potential investors, where he talked about building an AI supercomputer by copying and modifying Google’s technology.

Moreover, investigation discovered that Linwei Ding contacted another firm and discussed potential development of chip production, including Tensor Processing Unit chips and Graphics Processing Unit systems.

When the Google security team detected Ding’s violations, he tried his best to cover his tracks. Mr. Linwei claimed that he had downloaded files as evidence of his professional capabilities to demonstrate his achievements during his days at Google. Also, he signed a Self-Deletion Affidavit stating that he had deleted all downloaded confidential files.

The former Google software engineer was found guilty of economic espionage and trade secret theft, but a final sentence hasn’t been announced.

The Linwei Ding case clearly demonstrates that insider threats can no longer be ignored. Insiders initially have access to valuable data stored across various business communication tools.

To counter such abuse of privilege, the SearchInform team has developed Risk Monitor, a Next-Gen DLP platform, which ensures safety across all common business communication channels. The solution seamlessly integrates with MS 365 and other cloud services, protecting confidential data on workstations and in cloud storage. It controls data transfers via email, FTP, removable drives, and other channels. Risk Monitor is your go-to solution to prevent accidental and intentional data leaks across the whole corporate perimeter.

Contact us today to learn more about how our solutions provide a complex protection for your company.