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Google Engineers Charged in Tensor Trade Secret Theft
20 Feb
Summary
- Two ex-Google engineers and a husband indicted for trade secret theft.
- The stolen secrets pertain to Google's Tensor processor for Pixel phones.
- Defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Three Iranian nationals, including two former Google engineers, have been indicted in the U.S. on charges of conspiracy and theft of trade secrets. The indictment, unsealed on Thursday, details allegations of stealing confidential information concerning Google's Tensor processor, which is integral to the company's Pixel phones.
Samaneh Ghandali, a former hardware engineer, and her sister Soroor Ghandali, a past intern, allegedly conspired with Samaneh's husband, Mohammadjavad Khosravi. While Khosravi was never hired by Google, he allegedly participated in the scheme. The trio were arrested and made initial court appearances in San Jose, California.
If found guilty of the most serious charges, the defendants could face a minimum of 20 years imprisonment. A Google spokesperson confirmed the company has strengthened its security measures for confidential data and collaborated with law enforcement following the discovery of the incident.
