News Former ASML Employee Took Stolen Company Secrets to Huawei, Says Report

[Admin]

A new report suggests the Chinese national who stole information during their time working at ASML went on to share the information with Huawei.

Former ASML Employee Took Stolen Company Secrets to Huawei, Says Report : Read more

 

[Evildead_666]

While China was still making chips at TSMC, the US could keep an eye on what was being made, and maybe even more.
Now they have no idea what is being made, and no levers to pull.
If TSMC is no longer needed for China to fab any chips, it also loses leverage....

If the Chinese worker didn't actually take any physical data, just what he had in his head, its not easy to prove theft, hence embezzlement, no ?

 

[endocine]

There are a lot of red flags here for any company. IP theft by the Chinese state is a huge problem, why a company in the netherlands would hire a Chinese national is incomprehensible. When US companies refuse to do so, they get sued for discrimination, and often lose. Might as well put all your IP on your public facing website because its going to get misappropriated anyway for whatever reason, but at least it would be an open standard.

 

[Evildead_666]

There are a lot of red flags here for any company. IP theft by the Chinese state is a huge problem, why a company in the netherlands would hire a Chinese national is incomprehensible. When US companies refuse to do so, they get sued for discrimination, and often lose. Might as well put all your IP on your public facing website because its going to get misappropriated anyway for whatever reason, but at least it would be an open standard.

I think in Europe you arent allowed to refuse employment based on country of origin.

 

[defiantDti]

What now? Huawei can't employ former ASML employee? Employee switch job and work for competitors all the time !

 

[jackt]

how a huge suprise!

 

[BX4096]

I think in Europe you arent allowed to refuse employment based on country of origin.

What now? Huawei can't employ former ASML employee? Employee switch job and work for competitors all the time !

The problem here is that of national security and truly unparalleled scale, though, so I don't think other countries can afford to just dismiss it as your run-of-the-mill discrimination:

Chinese hackers took trillions in intellectual property from about 30 multinational companies [between 2019 and 2022]

"A yearslong malicious cyber operation spearheaded by the notorious Chinese state actor, APT 41, has siphoned off an estimated trillions in intellectual property theft from approximately 30 multinational companies within the manufacturing, energy and pharmaceutical sectors."​

Global intelligence leaders warn against China's technology theft

All countries spy to covertly learn information, Australia's Director-General of Security Mike Burgess said. "But the behavior we're talking about here goes well beyond traditional espionage," Burgess said of China. "This scale of the theft is unprecedented in human history." [...] "We probably have somewhere in the order of 2,000 active investigations that are just related to the Chinese government's effort to steal information," [FBI Director Christopher] Wray said.​

 

[Blastomonas]

This is true as it would be considered descrimination. However, Im sure that employers are not always honest with the reasons for not hiring people. In other words, they could make up some excuse not to hire someone if they are suspicious of their background. Perhaps there will be some new rules in the future for exceptions to the equality act for these industries.

 

[_Shatta_AD_]

There are a lot of red flags here for any company. IP theft by the Chinese state is a huge problem, why a company in the netherlands would hire a Chinese national is incomprehensible. When US companies refuse to do so, they get sued for discrimination, and often lose. Might as well put all your IP on your public facing website because its going to get misappropriated anyway for whatever reason, but at least it would be an open standard.

Companies all over the globe poach employees from other companies all the time in the hope of benefiting from the experience they gained from working in their previous job. So a person working for Popeyes who gained knowledge of say prepping the chicken in a certain way to make it more flavorful and moist, then they quit and got hired at KFC and that person teach others at the store the same techniques he learned. Is it right for Popeyes to claim that employee stole their IP? Afterall you got hired at any company to help improve a company’s efficiency and products because they think you have more experience than just some random Joe on the street. Otherwise you won’t even have a job. My point is, sharing your experience gained from working at another place is not a crime. But of course your competitor will claim otherwise, they’ll claim your shoe and the hair on your scalp is their IP. Then the news media get a whiff and paraphrase a bit and suddenly the employee became a thief and everyone scorn at him.
We barely had any details on what the nature of this accusation is other than someone at ASML ‘claim’ an IP theft transpired. Nothing about what is stolen, can this knowledge be considered an IP by third party, did Huawei benefited unfairly from it, prove that they did, etc. Just someone said, and everyone draw a conclusion.

 

[Co BIY]

The most advanced production technology in the world where a single "tool" costs over $300 million dollars and the research costs Billions and takes thousands of man-years to develop is not like frying chicken.

These techniques are not something that an employee stores in their head and then just happens to use to a new employers serendipitous benefit.

The Chinese Communist state is not just another greedy corporation looking to make a buck the easy way by cutting a corner here-or-there.

To pretend those things - is be a troll or very ignorant.

 

[purpleduggy]

lol semiconductor engineers jump companies all the time. you need to constantly out-innovate. if you are stagnant, and want to protect your stagnancy instead of out innovating, you will be copied. should already be at sub nanometre gate size. 2nm is ancient tech already

 

[kevinwinston4]

As Chinese descendant living in country outside China, I'm terribly sorry for this to happen.

My grandparents run away from China during the disastrous "Great leap Forward" plan in China. If due to the theft incident at ASML from Chinese citizen cause companies to stop hiring Chinese citizen, then so be it. It is within the rights of companies to secure their data and not hiring Chinese citizens due to potential security risks since it is safer this way.

I myself would not trust modern "mainland Chinese" nowadays.

 

[GenericUser]

This is true as it would be considered descrimination. However, Im sure that employers are not always honest with the reasons for not hiring people. In other words, they could make up some excuse not to hire someone if they are suspicious of their background. Perhaps there will be some new rules in the future for exceptions to the equality act for these industries.

I'm reminded of a quote supposedly from a business executive or other business leader during some scandal years ago about a bunch of illegal firings:

"You can always find a reason to fire someone."

I'd imagine the same is largely true for not hiring as well.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

This should be a very hard lesson for ASML as to whom not to hire in the future.

 

[EdgeLovagrend]

While China was still making chips at TSMC, the US could keep an eye on what was being made, and maybe even more.
Now they have no idea what is being made, and no levers to pull.
If TSMC is no longer needed for China to fab any chips, it also loses leverage....

If the Chinese worker didn't actually take any physical data, just what he had in his head, its not easy to prove theft, hence embezzlement, no ?

China was already focused on getting to the point of technological independence before even trump was elected. The only thing that's changed is that China is forced to move faster with less access to western tech. A lot of China's tech industry was ran and co developed by western corporations and people. We would have been here at some point better to be aware and taking it more seriously than to be ignorant and then surprised when China took market share due to subsidizing everything.

 

[EdgeLovagrend]

As Chinese descendant living in country outside China, I'm terribly sorry for this to happen.

My grandparents run away from China during the disastrous "Great leap Forward" plan in China. If due to the theft incident at ASML from Chinese citizen cause companies to stop hiring Chinese citizen, then so be it. It is within the rights on companies to secure their data and not hiring Chinese citizens due to potential security risks is safer.

I myself would not trust modern "mainland Chinese" nowadays.

I don't think the Chinese people or diaspora should bear the brunt of the blame for anything. The CCP is who we should be focusing on.. you don't need to apologize.

 

[Co BIY]

China was already focused on getting to the point of technological independence before even trump was elected. The only thing that's changed is that China is forced to move faster with less access to western tech. A lot of China's tech industry was ran and co developed by western corporations and people. We would have been here at some point better to be aware and taking it more seriously than to be ignorant and then surprised when China took market share due to subsidizing everything.

Western countries decided to bring China into the world economic system as a free-trading partner it was always expected that China would develop capabilities over time to become a peer and competitor. But it was also expected that being a part of the free market system would drive changes in the the Chinese government and system to allow increased freedom and fair participation in the world economic system that would reduce conflict.

But the CCP managed to move from a "dictatorship of the proletariat" to a dictatorship of the connected capitalists. Not the planned bargain.

When you stop a thief from stealing your lunch you are not forcing him to starve. You are requiring him to work for his own bread.