A Silicon Valley engineer, Chenguang Gong, pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of trade secrets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He downloaded over 3,600 documents from two electronics manufacturers, including crucial military technology such as sensors for aircraft and radiation-hardened cameras for early warning of rocket launches. Gong transferred these files to personal storage devices and admitted to the theft. The stolen information, if obtained by a foreign government, would compromise US national security.
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/engineer_admits_trade_theft/
TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/national-center-for-victims-of-crime
"id": "nat949072325",
"linkid": "national-center-for-victims-of-crime",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "7/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Electronics Manufacturing',
'location': 'San Jose, California',
'name': 'Victim Company',
'type': 'Military Contractor'}],
'attack_vector': 'Insider Threat',
'data_breach': {'file_types_exposed': ['CAD design schematics'],
'number_of_records_exposed': 'Over 3,600 files',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Trade secrets, military '
'technology'},
'date_detected': '2023-03-01',
'description': 'A Silicon Valley engineer pleaded guilty to stealing '
'thousands of trade secrets worth hundreds of millions of '
'dollars, including crucial military technology.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Trade secrets, military technology',
'financial_loss': 'Hundreds of millions of dollars'},
'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Insider Threat',
'high_value_targets': 'Military technology'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'motivation': 'Financial Gain, National Security Compromise',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Insider access to sensitive '
'information'},
'references': [{'source': 'FBI Testimony'}],
'response': {'law_enforcement_notified': 'Yes'},
'threat_actor': 'Chenguang Gong',
'title': 'Trade Secret Theft by Silicon Valley Engineer',
'type': 'Data Theft',
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Internal Access'}