US Justice Department Charges Foreign Tech Theft

The US Justice Department has filed criminal charges against five people accused of stealing or illegally diverting American technology and materials for the Russian, Chinese, and Iranian governments. The cases are the first enforcement actions by the department’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which aims to counter efforts by “hostile nation-states” to illegally acquire sensitive US technology. The charges include theft of trade secrets, fraud conspiracy, and smuggling. Four arrests were made, but some defendants remain at large.