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Samsung engineer sentenced to 7 years in prison for selling chipmaking trade secrets to Chinese chipmaker — ex-employee supplied 10nm DRAM data to CXMT for $2 million

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Tom's Hardware

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A Samsung engineer has been sentenced to seven years in prison for selling chipmaking trade secrets to Chinese chipmaker CXMT. The engineer, known as "Jeon," supplied detailed steps on DRAM manufacturing to CXMT for $2 million, causing potential trillions in losses for South Korea. Jeon's low compensation at Samsung was considered a mitigating factor in the sentencing. The stolen information allegedly helped CXMT advance its technology, leading to concerns about lost sales for Samsung and potential national security implications. The incident highlights the ongoing challenges of protecting intellectual property in the tech industry.

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