The presentation resulted in a criminal case and multimillion-dollar losses.
Software developer Mohammad Moniruzzaman made a serious mistake during a video call, which led to his criminal prosecution and a lawsuit against his employer, NVIDIA.
Moniruzzaman took a job at NVIDIA in 2021, immediately after leaving the German automotive technology company Valeo Schalter und Sensoren. However, both companies were working under contracts with the same car company, and in March 2022, Moniruzzaman found himself on a joint video call with four colleagues from NVIDIA and four representatives of his former employer, Valeo.
During the call, Moniruzzaman mistakenly disclosed confidential information. After finishing his PowerPoint presentation, he did not complete the screen demonstration, and a window with the code from Valeo and a file designated as "ValeoDocs"remained open on his computer. Participants in the call from Valeo immediately learned the source code and took a screenshot before Moniruzzaman realized his mistake.
Valeo conducted an audit of its computer systems and found that in April 2021, Moniruzzaman copied all the source code of the parking and driving software from Valeo's computer to his personal computer. Later, he transferred the stolen files to a computer issued to him by NVIDIA, using a USB drive. During a criminal investigation in Germany, Moniruzzaman's computers at NVIDIA were seized, and law enforcement agencies confirmed the presence of stolen source code files, as well as training materials.
Two months ago, Moniruzzaman was convicted in Germany for illegally acquiring, using and disclosing Valeo's trade secrets. In its lawsuit, Valeo claims that the stolen information was distributed to other NVIDIA engineers, which helped the company develop its own parking software and saved millions, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in development costs.
NVIDIA declined to comment on the lawsuit. In a June 2022 letter, NVIDIA's lawyers claim that Moniruzzaman's error was unknown to the company until May 19, 2022, when he reported his criminal prosecution in Germany for alleged copyright infringement. Moniruzzaman also said that "the alleged code was stored only on his local laptop" and was not available to other NVIDIA employees.
Valeo is seeking an injunction against NVIDIA's use of Valeo's trade secrets, as well as unspecified damages and a share of NVIDIA's profits, as well as millions of dollars in development savings.
Software developer Mohammad Moniruzzaman made a serious mistake during a video call, which led to his criminal prosecution and a lawsuit against his employer, NVIDIA.
Moniruzzaman took a job at NVIDIA in 2021, immediately after leaving the German automotive technology company Valeo Schalter und Sensoren. However, both companies were working under contracts with the same car company, and in March 2022, Moniruzzaman found himself on a joint video call with four colleagues from NVIDIA and four representatives of his former employer, Valeo.
During the call, Moniruzzaman mistakenly disclosed confidential information. After finishing his PowerPoint presentation, he did not complete the screen demonstration, and a window with the code from Valeo and a file designated as "ValeoDocs"remained open on his computer. Participants in the call from Valeo immediately learned the source code and took a screenshot before Moniruzzaman realized his mistake.
Valeo conducted an audit of its computer systems and found that in April 2021, Moniruzzaman copied all the source code of the parking and driving software from Valeo's computer to his personal computer. Later, he transferred the stolen files to a computer issued to him by NVIDIA, using a USB drive. During a criminal investigation in Germany, Moniruzzaman's computers at NVIDIA were seized, and law enforcement agencies confirmed the presence of stolen source code files, as well as training materials.
Two months ago, Moniruzzaman was convicted in Germany for illegally acquiring, using and disclosing Valeo's trade secrets. In its lawsuit, Valeo claims that the stolen information was distributed to other NVIDIA engineers, which helped the company develop its own parking software and saved millions, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in development costs.
NVIDIA declined to comment on the lawsuit. In a June 2022 letter, NVIDIA's lawyers claim that Moniruzzaman's error was unknown to the company until May 19, 2022, when he reported his criminal prosecution in Germany for alleged copyright infringement. Moniruzzaman also said that "the alleged code was stored only on his local laptop" and was not available to other NVIDIA employees.
Valeo is seeking an injunction against NVIDIA's use of Valeo's trade secrets, as well as unspecified damages and a share of NVIDIA's profits, as well as millions of dollars in development savings.
