A former Google engineer has been accused of stealing artificial intelligence (AI) secrets and faces heavy fines.
According to TechSpot, a Google software engineer named Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted for stealing trade secrets about Google’s AI technology while working secretly for the company. Chinese AI. He even founded a startup in his hometown without Google’s knowledge.
It is known that Ding is a Chinese resident in Newark, California, USA, and has been charged with four counts of stealing commercial secrets. The indictment claims that Ding transferred confidential information about Google’s AI from the company’s network to his account, in addition to working secretly for two AI companies based in China.
Ding is accused of stealing more than 500 files containing Google’s AI trade secrets and planning to transfer them to Chinese companies, to help them gain an advantage in the artificial intelligence race.
The technology that Ding is accused of stealing mainly involves Google’s tensor processing chip (TPU), which is optimized for AI computing capabilities. Prosecutors claim that he stole the chip architecture and software design specifications for TPU versions 4 and 6 at different times.
Additionally, Ding is also accused of stealing hardware, software, system management, and performance specifications for GPU chips deployed in Google’s supercomputing data centers. The indictment further states that the files also contain software design specifications for Google CMS, the system that manages machine learning workloads on TPU and GPU chips in Google’s supercomputing data centers
Ding is believed to have transferred these files to his personal Google Cloud account between May 2022 and May 2023, done by copying data from Google source files into the Notes application. on a Google-issued MacBook laptop, then convert the notes to PDF files to avoid detection by Google’s data loss prevention system.
Besides, without Google’s permission, Ding also founded his startup in China and asked his colleagues to swipe his card at the Google office to hide the fact that he was in another country. According to The Verge, a Chinese machine learning company called Rongshu offered Ding the job of chief technology officer (CTO) less than a month after he started stealing data from Google.
Ding quit his job at Google in December 2023 and rushed back to China after the company began questioning him about suspicious uploads. For each charge, Ding faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000
