The Chinese former employee who took trade secrets from ASML in Veldhoven last year worked for the Chinese tech giant Huawei for some time after his departure. Several sources in and around the company reported this to NRC, a Dutch newspaper.
ASML already reported what the company called ‘unauthorized embezzlement’ in its 2022 annual report, but omitted that the person involved started working at Huawei. The Veldhoven company made the report at the time because the information that was taken falls under American export control regulations.
Huawei is also on the US government’s so-called Entity List. That is a list of companies that are not allowed by the US to acquire advanced chip technology. In this way, the US is trying to halt Chinese technological progress.
The damage from this theft was limited, ASML CEO Peter Wennink told investors in early 2023. He described the stolen information as “one piece of a puzzle that you don’t have the box for.” ASML does not want to confirm where the former employee went after his departure. According to the newspaper, ASML has tightened its internal security since this incident.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
