Intel sues former employee for theft of Xeon files

Blocks & Files reports Intel is taking legal action against a former employee for theft of confidential data related to the Xeon processor. Dr. Varun Gupta worked at Intel's Portland facility for nearly ten years, in product marketing and strategic planning and business development, before he took up a position at Microsoft as Principal for Strategic Planning in Cloud and AI. Intel alleges that Gupta copied 3,900 confidential files about the Xeon processor to USB flash drives right before he joined Microsoft in January 2020.

A cooperation between Microsoft and Intel revealed that Gupta accessed these files at least 114 times throughout his employment by Microsoft:

An Intel security team began an investigation to determine the nature and scope of Gupta’s knowledge. With the assistance of Microsoft, “forensic analysis ultimately showed that Gupta had taken thousands of Intel documents, placed them on one or more of at least two USB drives (including the Seagate Drive), and accessed them on multiple dates throughout his employment by Microsoft.”

For example, “forensic analysis revealed that between February 3, 2020 and July 23, 2020, Gupta plugged the Western Digital Drive into his MS Surface at least 114 times.” Documents accessed included ”a slide deck relating to Intel’s confidential engagement strategy and product offerings for Xeon customised processors.”

Intel seeks a jury trial and wants damages of at least $75,000, payment of its legal fees, and a restraining order to prevent Gupta from using confidential Intel data.