Google Engineers Indicted for Iran Trade Secret Theft
Three Former Tech Employees Indicted for Alleged Trade Secret Theft and Transfer to Iran
A federal indictment has been unsealed in the United States, charging three individuals, including two former Google engineers, with conspiring to steal trade secrets from leading technology companies and transferring the information to unauthorized locations, including Iran.
Defendants and Charges
Samaneh Ghandali, 41, and her husband Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, along with her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, all Iranian nationals residing in San Jose, California, have been accused of engaging in a scheme to obtain and exfiltrate confidential and sensitive information from their employers, including Google.
The indictment alleges that the defendants concealed their actions by submitting false affidavits, destroying evidence, and manually photographing screens containing the stolen documents instead of transferring them electronically. The defendants also performed online searches and visited websites about deleting communications and data, including queries related to the duration for which a cellular service provider kept messages.
Stolen Information and Investigation
The investigation revealed that Samaneh Ghandali transferred hundreds of files, including Google trade secrets, to a third-party communications platform, while Soroor Ghandali exfiltrated numerous Google-related files containing trade secrets to the same channels. The stolen files were subsequently copied to personal devices and work devices belonging to the defendants.
Potential Penalties and Industry Implications
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of trade secret theft charges, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of obstruction of justice.
The case highlights the growing concern of insider threats and corporate espionage in the technology industry. The incident also underscores the importance of robust security measures and vigilant monitoring to prevent and detect unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Google’s Response
The indictment comes less than a month after another ex-Google engineer, Linwei Ding, was convicted in the U.S. for stealing thousands of the company’s confidential documents to build a startup in China.
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