On Wednesday, the Justice Department said a former software engineer at Google had been charged with stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets from the tech giant while working with two companies based in China.
Chinese national Linwei Ding was taken into custody in Newark, California, on four counts of stealing federal trade secrets, each of which carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence.
Ding Arrested for Stealing Google's AI Secrets
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has repeatedly warned about the threat of Chinese economic espionage and the national security concerns posed by advancements in AI and other developing technologies, announced the case against Ding at an American Bar Association conference in San Francisco.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that today's charges are the latest illustration of the lengths affiliates of companies based in the People's Republic of China are willing to go to steal American innovation. He added that the theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies could cost jobs and have devastating economic and national security consequences.
Google reported the incident to law enforcement after determining that the employee had taken "numerous documents." Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement that they have strict safeguards to prevent the theft of their confidential commercial information and trade secrets.
He claimed that they found that Ding had stolen numerous documents and immediately referred the case to law enforcement. Castaneda thanked the FBI for helping protect their information and will continue cooperating with them.
According to the indictment released on Wednesday in the Northern District of California, Ding, hired by Google in 2019, started downloading hundreds of files into a personal Google Cloud account two years ago. It alleges that Ding had access to sensitive information about the company's supercomputing data centers.
Prosecutors claimed that within weeks of the theft, Ding received an offer to become chief technology officer of an early-stage Chinese technology company that highlighted its use of AI and promised him a salary of approximately $14,800 per month along with an annual bonus and company stock. According to the indictment, Ding visited China, had investor meetings at the business, and attempted to obtain money.
He also established and led a startup in China to develop large AI models powered by supercomputing chips.
Three days later, Google officials discovered that he had presented at a Beijing investment conference as the CEO of one of the Chinese companies.
Officials also reviewed a security tape that showed how Ding's access badge at the Google headquarters in the US had been scanned by another employee where he worked to make it look like Ding was there while he was in China.
After reviewing Ding's network activity history, Google locked his laptop, suspended his network access, and found illegal uploads.
The FBI confiscated Ding's electronic devices while executing a search warrant at his residence in January. Later, the FBI conducted another order for his accounts, which contained over 500 files of confidential information that the authorities claimed he stole from Google.
Justice Leaders Reveal True Dangers of AI
AI is the primary arena of competition in high technology, and the outcome of this competition can have significant commercial and security implications. In recent weeks, Justice Department leaders have expressed concern about foreign adversaries' potential to use AI technologies to harm the US.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech last month that AI will be the top enforcement priority for the government's multi-agency Disruptive Technology Strike Force. Last week, Wray told a conference that adversaries have made it easier to try to interfere in American politics because of AI and other emerging technologies.
On Wednesday, Garland expressed similar thoughts and said that AI has pluses and minuses, advantages and disadvantages, great promise, and the risk of great harm.
