1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:11,359 Welcome to Spycraft, a podcast that tells gripping life and death spy stories and 2 00:00:11,439 --> 00:00:17,199 the amazing devices and operations that made them possible. Now let's get started. 3 00:00:27,879 --> 00:00:33,600 US tech giants Owner alert after China trade secret sting. Len Wad Ding l 4 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,799 n w I d I n G, a software engineer at Google, had 5 00:00:36,799 --> 00:00:39,880 a little secret. While he was supposed to be clocking in full time hours 6 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:45,280 in Google's Bay Area offices, he reportedly spent months in China. The bombshell 7 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:50,079 is that prosecutor say Ding was allegedly stealing some of Google's most crucial AI secrets, 8 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,840 all while marketing himself to Chinese companies as an AI expert. Ding is 9 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,920 now facing federal charges out to the FBI raided his home days before planned one 10 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:07,120 way flight to China. Ding's arrest so spotlights the ongoing nightmare for American tech 11 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,760 companies China's aggressive campaign to swipe trade secrets. Ding isn't alone. Tesla, 12 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:17,000 Microsoft, Boeing, and even Apple have felt the sting of alleged intellectual property 13 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,159 theft. The details from Core records are jaw dropping. Ding allegedly had an 14 00:01:21,159 --> 00:01:25,680 accomplice had accomplices badge him into build Google's buildings to make it look like he 15 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,439 was there. Meanwhile, he was reportedly copying hundreds of files packed with Google's 16 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,719 most valuable AI technology and uploading them to his personal account. It was a 17 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:38,480 shockingly low tech method for stealing from one of the world's most sophisticated tech giants. 18 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,400 Google insists they had strict safeguards, but Cornell computer scientists and leading AI 19 00:01:44,439 --> 00:01:49,760 expert called the theft to very significant loss that could impact national security. Stolen 20 00:01:49,799 --> 00:01:53,480 secrets reportedly include blueprints for advanced to US design computer chips, the exact kind 21 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,120 US wants to keep away from China. China, of course, denies anything 22 00:01:59,159 --> 00:02:04,200 by cybersecurity titan Dmitri Yapoleovich has been sounding the alarm about Chinese espionage for over 23 00:02:04,239 --> 00:02:07,639 a decade, calling it the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The relentless 24 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:14,400 theft that experts se has devastated American industries and destroyed jobs. Companies have to 25 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,520 get much better identifying what is truly a crown jew in their company, though, 26 00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:22,039 many believe tech firms need to step up their security against insider threats and 27 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:28,400 closely monitor employees with access to top secret tech. What happens to day, 28 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,000 well, he could face a decade in prison, but it remains unclear if 29 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,240 he shared the stolen files. That means damage control might be impossible. If 30 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,479 a Chinese national replicated the technology under a Chinese pattern, well good luck challenging 31 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:43,039 that in court, especially a Chinese court. October twenty twenty three saw the 32 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,560 FBI joining forces with other intelligence partners called the Five Eyes Britain, Australia, 33 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:51,120 Canada, New Zealand of course the US to Warren Silicon Valley about the Chinese 34 00:02:51,159 --> 00:02:55,080 threat, This isn't just about still and algorithms of battery blueprints. Is about 35 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,240 an aggressive economic assault with massive consequences.