Suspected SK hynix HBM tech leaker arrested boarding flight to China
A man suspected of attempting to smuggle SK hynix tech secrets to China was apprehended at South Korea's Incheon International Airport earlier this month. DigiTimes reports that the former employee subcontractor aimed to leak the firm's proprietary high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging technology to entities based in China.
According to the source report, authorities had been aware of the activities of suspect 'Mr Kim' for several months. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Industrial Technology Security Investigation Unit made the dramatic airport arrest, moments before flight boarding, and charged Kim with violating South Korea's trade secret and unfair competition laws. Its investigators say that Kim stole critical data about HBM at around the same time he resigned as a subcontractor at SK hynix, at the beginning of the year.
Korean prosecutors allege that Kim kept printed and photographed records from his time at SK hynix. He went as far as removing SK hynix branding and 'confidential' markings from any material he captured, it is claimed. In total, reports say Kim was caught with a haul of 11,000 images from his time at SK hynix. Boldly, Kim is even said to have cited some of these stolen documents in job applications to Chinese firms, including Huawei's HiSilicon.
Above, we mentioned that the stolen proprietary data was mostly about HBM technology. More precisely, the almost-leaked SK hynix secrets were focused on the backend packaging stage of HBM, and hybrid bonding techniques, says reports.
HBM is widely used in AI accelerators, so it is understandable that Chinese rivals would covet SK hynix's work on fine-tuning the production of this kind of computer memory.
The case of Mr Kim is possibly only the tip of the iceberg, and there have been several other high-profile tech leaks to China involving rival companies like Samsung, for example.
South Korea already has reasonably strong deterrents to stem semiconductor IP theft. Individuals can face fines up to the equivalent of US$71,000 and up to 10 years behind bars. Harsher penalties and sentences can be imposed where strategic sectors fall victim to IP theft. Nevertheless, Korean authorities are making efforts to bolster legal deterrents, say reports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
U.S. Senators Warn Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about His Trip to China
Two U.S. senators—Republican Jim Banks and Democrat Elizabeth Warren—sent a letter to Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang on Friday, urging him to be cautious during his trip to China. They asked him not to meet with any companies that are believed to be helping China get around U.S. export restrictions, especially those connected to the Chinese military or intelligence agencies and that are listed on the U.S. export blacklist. The senators warned that even appearing to support these companies could weaken U.S. efforts to control advanced chip exports. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Huang's trip was scheduled for the same day the letter was sent. In response, an Nvidia spokesperson said that when American technology leads the global standard, 'America wins,' and noted that China has one of the world's largest groups of software developers. They added that AI systems should be designed to run best on U.S.-based hardware, which would encourage other countries to choose U.S. tech over alternatives. However, the concern from lawmakers is that Huang's meetings could expose weaknesses in current rules and send the wrong signal about America's stance on protecting its technology. This issue ties into recent tensions between Nvidia and U.S. regulators. At the Computex trade show in May, Huang praised President Donald Trump's decision to loosen some AI chip export rules and called the earlier restrictions ineffective. But newer limits put in place in April could still cost Nvidia up to $15 billion in lost revenue. Lawmakers are now considering laws that would require chipmakers to verify where their products end up. There are also growing fears that Chinese companies like DeepSeek are helping the military and using fake companies to dodge the rules. Despite all this, Nvidia is reportedly preparing a cheaper version of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. What Is a Good Price for NVDA? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on NVDA stock based on 37 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average NVDA price target of $176.29 per share implies 6.7% upside potential.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canada hits pause on tariff hike as Trump extends trade deadline
-- Canada is pausing its planned escalation of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, Politico reports, after President Donald Trump extended a bilateral trade negotiation deadline to August 1, while simultaneously threatening new tariffs. The shift offers both nations a narrow window to avoid a broader trade rupture, though tensions remain high over economic and security issues. According to two Canadian government officials cited by Politico, Ottawa will no longer proceed with plans to double its tariffs on U.S. metals from 25% to 50% on July 21. The officials noted that Canada's current 25% countermeasures will remain in place during the extended talks for a new economic and security agreement. Trump's letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined a new 35% tariff set to take effect August 1, separate from existing sectoral duties on vehicles and commodities. In it, Trump cited concerns over the alleged flow of fentanyl from Canada and what he described as 'unfair trading practices,' including tariffs of up to 400% on U.S. dairy exports. 'There will be no tariff if Canada, or companies within your country, decide to build or manufacture production within the United States,' Trump wrote. He added that he would 'consider an adjustment' to the planned tariffs if Canadian cooperation on drug policy improves. The White House's broader tariff directive this week applies new levies across multiple economies, including a 25% duty on both South Korea and Japan. These measures largely follow outlines from Trump's April announcement, dubbed 'liberation day,' though implementation has been delayed from July 9 to August 1. While the deadline extension has eased near-term pressure, officials on both sides have not ruled out escalation should a deal fail to materialize. Both Washington and Ottawa have threatened expanded duties on a wider range of goods if progress stalls. Related articles Canada hits pause on tariff hike as Trump extends trade deadline - Politico Trump's big beautiful bill to boost economy, but tariffs pack bigger punch: MS 'Beautiful Bill' to provide slight GDP boost through 2027, Morgan Stanley says Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Weekly Recap: Bitcoin Hits ATH as Dozens of Treasuries Bloom
This week, bitcoin hit a new all-time-high (above $118K) on the back of strong ETF flows and at least $280 million in new bitcoin treasury investments. Treasury projects are also cropping up for Ethereum and Solana. Notably, Joseph Lubin's SharpLink ETH treasury bought 10,000 ETH for that project, and Bitmine announced plans to raise $2 billion for more ETH buying. Off that strong signal, large-cap 'alts' like ETH and SOL saw near year-to-date highs, carrying other hot projects like SUI higher as well. It was a week when the crypto markets seemed to be enjoying themselves as new legislation nears and investment flows from new institutional sources. The U.S. House said it would take up the Senate version of the GENIUS stablecoin bill, making final passage easier. And industry leaders met on Capitol Hill to lobby for a comprehensive 'Market Structure' bill. It wasn't all plain sailing for innovators in the space. Robinhood faced skepticism over its tokenized stock plans, and then the Florida AG launched a lawsuit claiming the fintech engaged in deceptive crypto pricing. The Trump family's own crypto dealings continued to make news. Trump Media announced a multi-asset ETF application. And, Tron founder Justin Sun bought $100 million of $TRUMP and promised to help the memecoin go big in Asia and Africa. Next week (dubbed "Crypto Week") promises to be historic for crypto news. The House considers stablecoin and market structure legislation and the Senate has a hearing planned on digital asset taxation. First a trickle, then a flood.
