AMD worker charged with Intel trade-secrets theft
Published: 15 Sep 2008 08:53 BST
The FBI has charged an engineer with stealing trade secrets from Intel, his former employer, after taking a position with rival chipmaker AMD, The Boston Globe reported on Friday.
A search of Biswahoman Pani's home in Worcester, Massachusetts, on 1 July turned up more than 100 pages of sensitive Intel documents, including 13 'top secret' files containing designs for future processor chips, the FBI said. A criminal complaint against Pani, which was unsealed on Tuesday, was filed by the FBI in late August in the US district court in Boston.
Pani supplied his resignation to Intel in May, stating he would continue working at the company until 11 June, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. However, he began working for AMD on 2 June, while he still had access to his Intel laptop and Intel's computer network. The affidavit said Pani collected the sensitive information from Intel for its competitive value to his new employer.
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During a 23 July interview, Pani admitted to the FBI that he had obtained the files, but said he did so only out of curiosity and to aid his wife, also an Intel employee, in preparing for a transfer to a new Intel plant.
Intel asked the FBI and the US Department of Justice to intervene after learning about Pani's job at AMD from another Intel employee. The FBI said there is no evidence that AMD knew of or encouraged Pani's actions or ever received the confidential Intel files. Pani is no longer employed by AMD, his attorney told the The Boston Globe.
Pani was ordered to surrender his passport, but was not taken into custody.
Representatives from Intel and AMD could not be reached immediately for comment.
Credit: Former Intel worker charged in theft of secret files from CNET News
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