A former Google software engineer has been charged with secretly collaborating with two China-based companies to steal artificial intelligence technology from the company, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Linwei Ding, a Chinese national, was arrested in Newark, California on four counts of federal trade secret theft, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The lawsuit against Ding was announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland at an American Bar Association conference in San Francisco. Attorney General Garland, along with other law enforcement leaders, has repeatedly warned of the national security concerns posed by the threat of Chinese economic espionage and advances in artificial intelligence. Intelligence.
“Today’s charges are the latest example of the lengths to which affiliates of companies based in the People’s Republic of China will go to steal American innovation,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. Ta.
“The theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from U.S. companies could result in job losses and devastating economic and national security effects.”
Ding uploads files to personal account: Prosecution
U.S. Justice Department leaders have sounded the alarm in recent weeks about the potential for foreign adversaries to use AI technology to harm the United States.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech last month that the administration’s multi-agency disruptive technology strike force would put AI enforcement at the top of its priority list. Wray told business leaders at an event last week that AI and other emerging technologies are making it easier for adversaries to interfere in the U.S. political process.
A federal judge has barred a Chinese engineering student from studying in Canada, citing concerns that he could be coerced into espionage by the Canadian government. Experts say similar incidents may occur in the future.
According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in the Northern District of California, Ding, who was hired by Google in 2019 and had access to sensitive information about the company’s supercomputing data centers, had been using his personal Google Cloud account for two years. He said he started uploading hundreds of files.
This will continue in the future.