A former employee of the Dutch chip manufacturer ASML has passed on trade secrets from his former employer to the Chinese Huawei. The man was now working there too.

Research by the Dutch newspaper NRC has uncovered a case of corporate espionage in the chip world. A former employee of the manufacturer ASML passed on trade secrets to the Chinese technology exchange Huawei.

Stop the thief

The illicit embezzlement, as ASML calls it, was committed last year by a Chinese employee who was working for the Dutch at the time. However, according to Peter Wennin, CEO of ASML, the damage caused by the theft was limited.

Since this event, ASML has significantly tightened its internal security. The company is now better protecting its technology internally. There is increased control over computer activities and there are detection gates at various locations in the Veldhoven facility.

America versus China

The incident was already mentioned in ASML’s annual report, but what has not yet been mentioned is that the former employee actually worked at Huawei afterwards. The report was necessary because of the technology trade war between the USA and China, in which Western Europe and certainly ASML are also involved.

In 2015, the Dutch were victims of a major hack and since then security has been significantly increased. ASML is a global player on the chip playing field and is therefore extremely interesting for China. The trade conflict with the USA regularly forces Beijing to look for alternatives or loopholes to circumvent embargoes.

The technology battle between the two world powers has been going on for several years and has seen several blips on both sides. The development of AI technologies has been particularly important recently. The US and the Netherlands have already partnered to withhold key chip technology from China. However, ASML can continue to supply DUV machines to China until the end of this year.