Lawsuit Alleges Ex-Intel Employee Hid 18,000 Sensitive Documents Prior to Leaving the Company

A lawsuit filed in Washington federal court alleges that an ex-Intel software engineer downloaded and hid around 18,000 sensitive documents before leaving the company. The former employee, Jinfeng Luo, had worked as a software developer at Intel since 2014 and was notified of his pending dismissal on 7 July, with employment set to end on 31 July.

Intel says Luo attempted his first unauthorized file transfer on 23 July, weeks after receiving termination notices, amid a backdrop of last summer’s company-wide layoffs affecting more than 15,000 employees worldwide. The site notes that DataBreaches[.]net reminds readers that lawsuits and allegations are not proof of wrongdoing, and that the information in the Intel filing is an allegation at this stage.

According to Intel’s lawsuit filed in Washington federal court, the incident underscores ongoing concerns about insider threats and access management during workforce reductions and departures.