Chinese chap charged with stealing Google’s AI datacenter secrets A now-former Google employee has been charged with stealing the ad giant’s AI trade secrets while quietly working for two Chinese companies – after easily defeating whatever security controls Big G had in place. On Wednesday, the US Dept of Justice revealed an indictment that names Linwei Ding, aka Leon Ding, and states that …
Sauron didn't see two grubs crawl up the slopes of Mt Doom either. ;)
Pehaps big G needs a Palantir? :)
I would have thought this chap would have made himself pretty scarce immediately after he was first queried about his uploads*. I suppose he may have already been under surveillance and would have been prevented from leaving the US.
Cupidity in the clever has the same consequences as stupidity in the less gifted.
*I would have thought a bit of steganography might have saved his bacon - google source files, compress, encrypt, steganographically embed in approved documents.
“ Then on December 26, he resigned.
Three days later, Google reviewed surveillance footage and saw Ding’s employee ID badge being used by another staffer, it is said. The search giant also learned of Ding’s investor pitches in his role as Zhisuan CEO.
On January 4, Ding’s laptop was frozen and his access to Google networks revoked.”
Seems pretty sloppy.
The U.S. is considering stealing Russia's money
Not it isn't. The US is considering a process where Russian government money is given to Ukraine as reparations for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Which strangely, not one American raise objections.
Loads of Americans have raised objections. As have loads of others. This is a controversial policy because of the implications of doing it. Because in general Central Bank assets have been considered safe.
But as others have said, there's no hypocrisy here. This is the difference between a person stealing from others in order to enrich themselves and complex issues of international relations and international law. Should the laws in place to try to stop Russia from launching an unprovoked war on its neighbours for territorial enlargement be more or less important than the normal relations between governments and Central Banks. Is it better to reduce trust in international financial relations to punish Russia for its unjustifiable mass slaughter, or is it better to accept we can't solve all problems and try to have more stable and predictable global financial relations?
Because it's not an easy matter, these discussions have been going for two years and still not reached a conclusion.
>launching an unprovoked war ....
Careful! An 'unprovoked' war might be, say, invading Iraq for the second time but if you've been following the news at all you'd know that Russia / Ukraine has been simmering for some time. Its one of those things that's probably left alone.
The important thing to bear in mind is that wars cost a whole lot of money that we don't have (because we -- the US -- have been everywhere and anywhere for the last umpteen years and we're basically broke). However, our MIC -- the proud sponsors of Ukraine's lobbying efforts in DC, BTW -- need the business so we're trying to figure out how to take these monies. The justifications you read about are just propagandistic softening up. The central bankers have to a man (and woman) advised very strongly against such a step because while it might be OK to confiscate the national treasury of Afghanistan (or even the PRC if you go back to 1949) as "holding it in trust" such a move against Russia would signal that any nation's assets are up for grabs should they displease us. Financial markets hate uncertainty and creating it will just destroy the market......and yes, there are alternatives.
>unjustifiable mass slaughter,
Careful! Once again, events have overtaken the propaganda. "Mass Slaughter" might be a term better used for Gaza......again, its a minefield best left unsaid in a tech journal.
If you are of Chinese decent, you travel to and from the PRC while currently living in the US and you are working for a company in the US, what is the probability that person is an agent of the PRC?
Chinese citizens can apply to the public security organs of the city or county where they are registered to leave the country for private reasons.
Approval is granted unless there are exceptions.
According to migrationpolicy.org, the Chinese diaspora in the United States is the ninth largest in the country and is made up of around 5.4 million people.
This includes people who were born in China, Hong Kong, or Macao, or who have Chinese ancestry or race.
According to CNN, Chinese nationals are one of the largest groups of successful asylum seekers in the US.
In 2022, nearly 13% of people granted asylum came from China, which is just over 4,500 people.
Between 2 and 3 million people travel to/from the PRC to the USA every year.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/214813/number-of-visitors-to-the-us-from-china/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_intelligence_activity_abroad
In March 2023, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) based in Washington DC published an updated Survey of Chinese Espionage in the United States Since 2000, which includes 224 documented cases of Chinese espionage targeted at the United States as of February 2023.[277] The list of cases is based on publicly accessible sources and CSIS believes it is likely incomplete.[277] According to CSIS, Chinese intelligence in the United States surpasses any other nation, including Russia.[277] While the economic and technological espionage costs the United States billions of dollars, Chinese espionage has also resulted in immeasurable harm to national security, particularly through the theft of weapon technology, including data related to nuclear weapons testing.[277] CSIS observed that in recent years, China has expanded its espionage efforts to include the theft of substantial amounts of personal information (PII), political manipulation, and influence operations.[277]
I believe EVERY Fortune 500 company in the USA has 1 ore more Chinese National currently employed and feeding information to the PRC. I know there were a large number working at a German Automotive in the USA that all regularly traveled to/from the PRC. Interesting that the PRC is suddenly developing clean diesel technology (just like the German automotive): https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/China-clean-diesel-III_final.pdf
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
