The previous SK hynix worker reportedly stole know-how associated to semiconductor manufacturing and ended up leaving the South Korean firm to affix Huawei in 2020. She was already working in China for SK hynix on the time of her departure and her job gave her entry to paperwork associated to the manufacturing of chips. Earlier than leaving SK hynix, she printed 4,000 paperwork of significance over 4 days.
SK hynix know-how was stolen by an ex-worker who moved to Huawei. | Picture credit-SK hynix
These paperwork contained data thought of to be core know-how below South Korean regulation. To keep away from detection, she printed about 300 pages per day and hid them in her backpack and buying luggage. Throughout her trial, she instructed the court docket that she made these copies to assist her examine the know-how and to ensure that her departure to Huawei would lead to a easy handover of knowledge.
Regardless of discovering her responsible, the court docket couldn’t discover proof that Huawei used the stolen data which saved the court docket from imposing a harsher sentence. Moreover, the court docket couldn’t discover that SK hynix had been harmed from the incident. This might be one other notch on the belt for many who think about Huawei to be a foul actor on the worldwide stage.Â
The corporate is already often called a nationwide safety menace within the U.S. In consequence, it has been positioned on the U.S. entity listing stopping it from coping with its U.S. provide chain. Export guidelines forestall foundries that use American know-how to ship cutting-edge chips to Huawei.