A former software engineer is facing a $250,000 lawsuit from Intel after he allegedly stole tens of thousands of files, including data labeled as “Intel Top Secret” According to The Mercury News, Jinfeng Luo, who started at Intel in 2014, received a termination notice last July 7th, ending his service with the company at the same month. Luo downloaded around 18,000 files in total, and then disappeared, with Intel now pressing a lawsuit in an effort to recover its property.
Intel is in the midst of a massive reduction-in-force, with 35,000 jobs cut in the last couple of years, so that may have contributed to Luo's termination, before evidence of any wrongdoing came to light. The company has been whittling down numbers as it faces a massive financial crisis, which was first laid bare in late July and early August 2024.
The lawsuit says Luo first attempted to copy files from his company-issued laptop to an external storage drive about a week before he was set to leave the company, but Intel’s protection mechanisms prevented him from succeeding with the transfer. He tried again three days before his last day, this time successfully transferring data to a NAS. He then spent the remainder of his time at Intel downloading as much information as he could, including confidential company assets, according to reports.
Intel detected and investigated the transfers soon after Luo completed them, and it has been attempting to reach him regarding the data breach for over three months. However, after he failed to respond to its multiple phone calls, emails, and even letters delivered via post, the company was forced to file a case against him to help recover the files.
This isn’t the first time that the company has sued one of its ex-employees for stealing data. Another former Intel engineer was recently sentenced to two years’ probation and a $34,000 fine after he illegally copied information from the CPU makers, which he then used to get hired at Microsoft. The court proceedings even revealed that the software giant used it to its benefit in negotiations with the company.
Luo, who cannot be located, hasn’t responded to any of the allegations yet. However, the company is demanding $250,000 in damages from the individual, as well as the return of all the stolen information.
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
That's what you get for hiring Chinese nationals. Guess what's gonna happen: he takes those docs to China where they have their own laws and no respect for the international community and all of a sudden, China has a true x86 competitor for Intel's best. AMD already sold designs to China.
Then, China withholds rare earth exports and they have the tools, the tech and the materials to build everythingwhile we sit and watch.
I guess you're referring to this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD%E2%80%93Chinese_joint_venture
That essentially licensed the 1st gen EPYC, but it was provided to them in essentially compiled form. Saying the design was sold would be equivalent to saying MS Windows source code had been provided to you, when all you did was a regular install of Windows on your PC.
I'm not sure why it's so hard to understand the that the same difference between source code vs. compiled binary can also apply to chips! It's not like companies who send their chip design for manufacturing by TSMC just give them the source code!
That's what you get for hiring Chinese nationals. Guess what's gonna happen: he takes those docs to China where they have their own laws and no respect for the international community and all of a sudden, China has a true x86 competitor for Intel's best. AMD already sold designs to China.
Then, China withholds rare earth exports and they have the tools, the tech and the materials to build everythingwhile we sit and watch.
Before speculating on the facts of the case, I would draw your attention to what has been stated. Only seeking $250k for stuff so sensitive? That is chump change in the business.
I seriously doubt the significance of the trove of stuff downloaded.
Only seeking $250k for stuff so sensitive? That is chump change in the business.
It's a good point, but we also don't know exactly what went into that number. I could imagine Intel merely had to file a lawsuit above some threshold, in order to trigger certain legal mechanisms. It could be that they simply haven't gone to the trouble of trying to assess the true financial impact of the theft and would revise the number, before the case actually went to trial.
That's what you get for hiring Chinese nationals. Guess what's gonna happen: he takes those docs to China where they have their own laws and no respect for the international community and all of a sudden, China has a true x86 competitor for Intel's best. AMD already sold designs to China.
Then, China withholds rare earth exports and they have the tools, the tech and the materials to build everythingwhile we sit and watch.
Or, perhaps because laying off peoples to please stack holders can fire back.
BTW previous example had nothing to do with transfer of data to China, but to very fellow US company.
Or, perhaps because laying off peoples to please stack holders can fire back.
The USA has employment "at will", meaning both employees and employers are free to terminate the arrangement. All employees should be well aware of this, and plan their affairs accordingly. Employees also sign NDAs, which make it abundantly clear that even IP that's not explicitly marked isn't to be shared. Finally, someone interested in stealing company data for personal gain won't necessarily do this only when facing layoffs - there have been plenty of examples where employees departed, company data in hand, entirely of their own accord.
There's basically no legitimate argument for stealing company data. If the company wrongfully terminated an employee, there are legal methods to pursue the matter and receive compensation. Theft is never justifiable.
Intel is the type of company where you can staff it with TSMC engineering IP knowledge and they still mess everything up in bureaucracy and incompetence.
He better be not in the country. Intel lawyers know all the tricks. They can go back to the judge and ask him to issue a bench warrant for not appearing. The next time he tries to fly or gets stopped for a minor traffic ticket he will be put in jail until he sees the judge.
