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A former CIA officer told senators Wednesday that a Google engineer who stole cutting-edge AI secrets for China went on to use the technology to build a company.
The testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as lawmakers warn of growing national security threats tied to Chinese intellectual property theft in critical technologies like artificial intelligence.
President Donald Trump has made AI a cornerstone of his policy agenda, calling for a single federal regulatory framework instead of a patchwork of state laws. His administration has also pushed to accelerate data center development and strengthen U.S. competitiveness against China.
Tom Lyons, with more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. government and private sector on Chinese economic espionage, told lawmakers the deck is stacked against American companies.
EX-GOOGLE ENGINEER FOUND GUILTY OF STEALING AI SECRETS FOR CHINESE COMPANIES
An ex-Google employee was convicted on charges he stole AI secrets for Chinese firms. (400tmax/Getty Images)
“American firms are not competing against Chinese rivals in any normal sense,” Lyons said. “They are competing against the largest intelligence apparatus in the world, one whose mission includes putting American companies out of business.”
“This is not GM versus Ford,” he told lawmakers in his opening remarks. “This is a U.S. startup versus the resources of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army.”
Lyons cautioned that the current approach leaves companies largely on their own to counter state-backed threats, treating what he described as a national security issue as a corporate compliance problem.
His warning reflects concerns raised by a recent high-profile case involving a former Google employee stealing secrets for China.
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The Central Intelligence Agency seal is displayed in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va., on Aug. 14, 2008. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
In January, federal prosecutors said Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer also known as Leon Ding, was convicted on multiple counts of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets after stealing thousands of pages of confidential AI-related information for the benefit of China. The case, tried in federal court in California, marks one of the first major U.S. convictions tied to artificial intelligence espionage.
According to evidence presented at trial, Ding downloaded sensitive data on Google’s AI infrastructure — including chip designs and software used to train advanced models — and uploaded it to a personal account while secretly working with China-based tech firms and launching his own startup.
Prosecutors said he sought to use the stolen technology to build AI systems in China and attract investors, highlighting the case as part of a broader effort by Beijing to acquire advanced U.S. technology.
U.S. officials say Chinese IP theft has cost billions and thousands of jobs. (iStock)
Lyons argued that cases like this illustrate a wider gap in how the U.S. responds to such threats.
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“If a foreign military were conducting operations on American soil, we would not ask our companies to fund their own defense,” he said.
U.S. officials have long argued that Chinese intellectual property theft has cost the American economy billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs, posing a significant national security risk. China has repeatedly denied engaging in such activity.
