Case details

SK hynix has access to advanced DRAM and flash memory technologies. It is currently working on HBM3e memory for NVIDIA AI GPUs, GDDR7 VRAM for future consumer GPUs, and is working with TSMC to develop HBM4 technology. All this data will be very important for Huawei because it will give it the opportunity to compete in various categories.

Reportedly an employee of SK hynix 3,000 pages of confidential information were printed Before joining Huawei. He is currently being tried in a South Korean court.

According to information available online, Huawei used “unique salary packages” to attract the right people and encourage them to steal important technologies from their current employers.

The person accused of the theft was not named in court documents. But here’s what is known:

• He is “Mr. A.” He is a man of Chinese origin known as.
• He joined the Korean company in 2013 and worked in the semiconductor defect analysis department.
• In 2020, he moved to Huawei, where he worked as a group leader in the commercial customer consulting department until June 2022.

In the process of changing jobs, he “realized that the USB drive could not be used to extract important data from SK hynix due to the advanced security system.” Instead, he printed more than 3,000 sheets of A4 paper and allegedly delivered them to Huawei.

After living abroad for two years, Mr. A entered South Korea at the end of April this year and was subsequently detained by the police. HE claims to have printed data solely for the purpose of studying semiconductors and not trying to transfer it In any form.

Huawei’s guilt is now in doubt

It’s worth noting that there are a few white spots in this story. First of all, there is nothing known about the evidence that would point to Huawei’s guilt in this case. The only clue the source gives is the fact that an SK hynix employee has moved to a new job at a Chinese company.

There is also some confusion in the Money Today article regarding the identity of the alleged kidnapper. It is first stated that she is “Miss A” and then “Mr. A” everywhere. This confusion could be a simple typo.

China and technology theft

It’s worth noting that China has a long and unpleasant history of technological theft. His various companies are constantly exposed as trying to attract employees from Apple, Google, General Electric, Intel, T-Mobile, and countless others.

• Yes, it is known that various car brands have been trying to steal Apple technologies that the American company is developing for its electric car for years, sometimes even successfully.
• The Chinese stole details about Google’s AI hardware and software.
• The country has also focused on advances in medicine, nanotechnology, textiles, bioengineering and prosthetics.

In fact, we could continue the list of such companies, industries, and countries affected by China’s industrial espionage for a very long time. As for SK hynix, the information stolen from it would greatly benefit the Chinese company because It contained data on reducing the defect rate in semiconductor manufacturing.

Huawei is still under US sanctions against the EU due to China’s role in spying on governments and ordinary citizens around the world and its involvement in the technology of espionage processes within the country. Not only was he deprived of access to information regarding chip production, but he was also deprived of many resources. In this context, the company, which almost went bankrupt a few years ago, began to find ways out of the crisis through illegal and unethical working methods.

Last year, it launched a new smartphone (the first smartphone with 5G since the imposition of sanctions) running on a chip whose exact characteristics are still unknown, but whose technological level is 5 or 7 nanometers. This is very close to modern standards and It is not clear where the company got this technology from. It has also been reported that Huawei has secretly set up a network of factories for semiconductor production and has even been able to enlist the help of Taiwanese companies.