"Is This Why Immediate Dismissals Happen?"... Intel Employee Steals Secrets and Cuts Off Contact

Stole 18,000 Company Files Four Days Before Dismissal

An Intel employee who had been notified of dismissal was found to have stolen company secrets. This incident marks another setback for Intel, which has already been lagging behind in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor sector, due to the leakage of confidential information.

According to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on November 8 (local time), Intel recently filed a lawsuit against its former engineer, Jinfeng Luo, demanding the return of stolen confidential information and compensation for damages.

According to the complaint submitted by Intel, Luo, who had worked at Intel since 2014, downloaded as many as 18,000 files from a company computer after being notified of his dismissal in early July. Luo was an engineer who developed electronic design automation (EDA) software used for designing and verifying semiconductors, which gave him authorized access to confidential materials.

Initially, he attempted to transfer the files to an external hard disk drive, but when the system blocked this action, he used a method of connecting a personal network-attached storage (NAS) device four days before his dismissal to exfiltrate the data. The materials Luo took included the company's business and confidential information, some of which were marked as Top Secret.

Subsequently, Intel tried to contact Luo by all available means, including phone, email, and mail, but he cut off all communication and did not respond. However, Intel did not mention in the complaint whether there was any indication that the confidential information had been leaked externally.

Intel requested the court to order Luo to return the confidential information he had acquired. The company also asked the court to prohibit him from using, copying, transmitting, or disclosing the information, as well as from deleting, destroying, or altering any evidence. In addition, Intel filed a claim for at least $250,000 (approximately 360 million won) in damages and punitive damages against Luo.

Intel carried out a large-scale restructuring, laying off tens of thousands of employees between April and July in recent years due to prolonged management difficulties, and Luo was among those notified of dismissal at that time.