Three engineers accused of stealing chip security trade secrets from companies like Google

Odaily Planet Daily reports that federal prosecutors have arrested three Silicon Valley engineers accused of stealing sensitive chip security trade secrets from companies such as Google and transferring them to unauthorized locations, including Iran. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of California has indicted Samaneh Ghandali, Soroor Ghandali, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), during her tenure at Google, Samaneh Ghandali allegedly transferred hundreds of files—including Google’s trade secrets—to a third-party communication platform. The stolen materials involve trade secrets related to processor security and cryptography. The defendants are accused of attempting to conceal their actions by deleting files, destroying electronic records, and submitting false affidavits to the victim company.

The indictment describes that in December 2023, the night before traveling to Iran, Samaneh Ghandali took approximately twenty images of trade secret information displayed on another company’s work computer screen. While in Iran, a device associated with her accessed these photos, and Khosravi accessed other trade secret materials. Google’s internal security system detected suspicious activity in August 2023 and revoked Samaneh Ghandali’s access.

All three defendants are charged with conspiracy and theft of trade secrets, as well as obstruction of justice. The maximum statutory sentence for obstruction of justice is 20 years in prison.

Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer of Kronos Research, stated that employees with legitimate access can, over time, quietly extract highly sensitive intellectual property even under existing controls. Risks faced by semiconductor and cryptography companies often come from “trusted insiders rather than hackers.”

Dan Dadybayo, Strategic Director at Horizontal Systems, said that when engineers can move architecture, key management logic, or hardware security design out of controlled environments, “the boundaries” collapse.

Dyma Budorin, Executive Chairman of Hacken, stated that certifications such as SOC 2 and ISO typically measure compliance maturity rather than actual resilience against specific attackers, especially insiders. These certifications demonstrate that controls exist during audits but do not prove that sensitive data cannot be stolen.