A Chinese national was apprehended in California on Wednesday and accused of purloining confidential trade secrets from Google’s Artificial Intelligence program while covertly employed by two AI startups in China, as per a recently revealed indictment.
Linwei Ding, a 38-year-old Newark resident, commenced employment at Google as a software engineer in 2019, entrusted with the task of crafting software for the tech behemoth used in their supercomputing data centers, as per legal documents.
However, after three years on the job, prosecutors allege that he clandestinely embarked on filching confidential trade secrets, encompassing the foundational elements of the company’s data centers utilized for training AI models in language comprehension and response generation, court records indicate.
During an approximately year-long period, Ding purportedly uploaded over 500 files containing sensitive information while concurrently working in secrecy for two AI startups in China, one of which he established himself.
Ding purportedly made trips to China on two occasions in October 2022 and November 2023 for business engagements and even attended a conference to promote his company to potential investors, according to court records.
One document procured by prosecutors revealed Ding’s promotion of his company’s services, highlighting his involvement with Google’s supercomputer platform.
“We just need to replicate and upgrade it – and then further develop a computational power platform suited to China’s national conditions,” the document stated, as per court records.
Allegedly, Ding took deliberate measures to evade detection by Google, transferring secret files to his Google Cloud by initially copying them to his Apple Notes app and then converting them to PDFs, as outlined in court documents.
Google headquarters is seen in Mountain View, CA, Sep. 26, 2022.
Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images
In December 2023, Google was notified of Ding uploading certain files, leading to an internal investigation where Ding purportedly claimed he did so to showcase his work but had no plans to depart from the company.
During the same period, Ding allegedly had a colleague swipe his Google access badge at the building thrice to create the illusion of his presence, according to prosecutors. Shortly after, he purchased a one-way ticket to Beijing, tendered his resignation via email to his manager, and Google subsequently became aware of his participation in the investor conference. The FBI was alerted, obtaining warrants to search Ding’s residence and Google Cloud account.
Ding was apprehended on Wednesday morning and is charged with four federal counts of trade secrets theft. Conviction could result in a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count. As of Wednesday afternoon, no attorney was listed on his court docket.
