Former Google employee charged with cyberespionage for China

Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, is being charged for planning to steal sensitive corporate information related to artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Google and handing it over to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

According to the indictment, Ding was hired by Google as a software engineer in 2019.

Between May 2022 and May 2023, the 38 year old suspect uploaded more than a thousand files containing confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the files included detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems.

In addition, it involved information about the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that manages thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads.

Lastly, the files Ding had uploaded to his personal Google Cloud account involved information regarding a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU and cloud networking products.

Furthermore, the suspect applied to a talent program in China, which offered grants, salaries and lab space to people who brought technical knowledge and research to China. In his application, Ding stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

The suspect was originally indicted in March 2024 on four accounts of theft of trade secrets. The indictment has now been expanded with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets, in connection with an alleged plan to steal proprietary information from Google on AI technology.

If found guilty, Ding faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for each count of stealing trade secrets. Additionally, he risks going to jail for an additional fifteen years for each count of cyberespionage.