Three engineers charged with stealing Google secrets and sending data to Iran
People walk near a sign outside Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.
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A federal grand jury has indicted three Silicon Valley engineers on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and other technology companies and transferring sensitive data to Iran, prosecutors said Thursday.
Samaneh Ghandali, 41, her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, all San Jose residents, were arrested Thursday and appeared in federal district court the same day.
It was stated in the indictment that the defendants were Iranian nationals. Soroor was in the US on a non-immigrant student visa. Samaneh later became a US citizen and her husband Khosravi became a legal permanent resident of the US. Prosecutors said Khosrowi previously served in the Iranian army.
The trio faces charges of trade secret theft, larceny and attempted trade secret theft, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California.
Prosecutors alleged that the three defendants used their positions at leading technology firms developing mobile computer processors to obtain hundreds of confidential files, including materials related to processor security and cryptography.
Samaneh and Soroor worked at Google before joining a third company identified only as Company 3. Khosravi worked at a separate firm called Company 2, which developed system-on-chip (SoC) platforms such as the Snapdragon series for smartphones and other mobile devices.
An SoC is a semiconductor that combines multiple components, such as graphics processing units and memory, into a power-efficient package. Common SoCs include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, found in most high-end Android phones, and Apple’s A-series for iPhones.
Google told CNBC that it detected the alleged theft through routine security monitoring before sending the case to law enforcement.
“We increased security measures to protect our confidential information and immediately alerted law enforcement after discovering this incident,” said spokesman José Castañeda.
The tech giant also noted measures to protect its trade secrets, including restricting employee access to sensitive information, two-factor authentication for work-related Google accounts, and logging file transfers to third-party platforms like Telegram.
Alleged concealment efforts
Authorities alleged that the defendants routed the stolen files through a third-party communications platform to channels named after each, then copied the material to personal devices, each other’s work devices, and Iran.
“The method by which confidential data was transferred by the defendants involved deliberate steps to avoid detection and conceal their identities,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.
The defendants attempted to cover their tracks after Google’s internal security systems flagged Samaneh’s activities and revoked his access to company resources in August 2023.
According to the indictment, he signed a false affidavit claiming that Google had not shared his confidential information outside the company. During this period, a personal laptop connected to Samaneh and Khosravi was used to investigate methods for deleting communications and how long mobile operators retained message logs, prosecutors said.
The pair also allegedly took photos of hundreds of computer screens containing confidential information belonging to Google and Company 2, in what appeared to be an attempt to circumvent digital surveillance tools.
The night before the duo left for Iran in December 2023, Samaneh allegedly took approximately 24 photos of Khosravi’s work computer screen, which contained Company 2’s trade secrets, including Snapdragon SoCs.
Prosecutors allege that a device linked to Samaneh accessed these photos while in Iran, while Khosravi accessed additional Company 2 proprietary information, such as the Snapdragon SoC hardware architecture.
Prosecutors said in the indictment that Snapdragon SoC trade secrets have independent economic value because they are not generally known and cannot be easily obtained from competitors of Company 2 who might benefit from their disclosure or use.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison for each trade secret charge and up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of justice, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 per count.
