Three former engineers associated with Google are facing charges in the United States for allegedly transferring confidential company information to Iran. This development involves Samaneh Ghandali, her husband Mohammadjavad Khosravi, and her sister Soroor Ghandali, who are accused of trade secret theft from Google and other technology firms.
Details of the Indictment
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the trio, all Iranian nationals residing in San Jose, were arrested recently and appeared in federal court in California. The charges include conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, actual theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice. The Ghandali sisters were employed at Google before moving to another tech firm, while Khosravi worked for a separate company in the mobile processor sector.
The indictment outlines how the accused allegedly used their positions to access sensitive information, which they then transferred unlawfully. The stolen trade secrets reportedly involved processor security and cryptography, with the information being sent to unauthorized locations such as Iran.
Google’s Response and Security Measures
Google, upon detecting the security breach, promptly informed law enforcement agencies. The company has since enhanced its security protocols to safeguard its confidential data. The trade secrets primarily concerned Google’s Tensor processor utilized in its Pixel line of smartphones. The Ghandali sisters allegedly transferred numerous files containing these secrets to third-party communication channels named after each defendant.
Khosravi and Soroor Ghandali reportedly moved these files to personal devices and work equipment provided by their respective employers. The defendants allegedly attempted to cover their tracks by destroying digital evidence and providing false affidavits.
Legal Implications and Future Outlook
The Justice Department stated that when Google’s internal systems flagged suspicious activity by Samaneh Ghandali, her access to company resources was revoked. Despite this, she allegedly continued to access and photograph sensitive information. The couple also researched online methods to delete communications and data.
If found guilty, each defendant could face substantial penalties, including up to 10 years in prison for each count of trade secret theft and 20 years for obstruction of justice, alongside significant fines. This case arises shortly after another former Google engineer, Linwei Ding, was convicted for similar charges related to confidential information theft.
The incident underscores the ongoing challenges tech companies face in protecting their intellectual property and the serious legal consequences for those involved in corporate espionage.
