Працівники в «чистій кімнаті» / ASML
Engineer German A. is accused of secretly supplying confidential technical information from ASML, NXP and TSMC to Russia and receiving illegal income for this.
The spy supplied secrets to Russia, allegedly for the creation of a 28 nm chip fab there, according to the NRC. His illegal income amounted to about €40,000 thousand, and he faces 18 to 32 months in prison. Although the engineer did not have the opportunity to steal the volume of required for production documents, the coordinated group could potentially facilitate semiconductor production in Russia. Investigators found that he received 105 internal ASML documents and 88 TSMC-related files.
The materials did not contain complete drawings for the creation of equipment for the manufacture of plates or otherwise, but they were marked as confidential and related to a line capable of producing 28 nm chips suitable for military use. Investigators believe that he shared this data via cloud storage, messengers, and handed over a USB drive in Moscow, for which he was allegedly paid the amount mentioned above.
The defendant is also linked to an attempt to purchase a chemical vapor deposition tool needed for the production of microchips. However, according to the report, the tool was first redirected to Israel and then never delivered.
In August 2024, German A. was taken into custody. A month later, ASML and NXP officially notified him of suspicion of espionage. His case is currently being considered in court, and the authorities suspect ties to Russian intelligence. Both companies are involved in the investigation and have filed complaints against the former employee.
Prior to his arrest last year, the defendant had a long career in semiconductor design and manufacturing. In 2008 and 2009, he was an intern at the Imec research center in Belgium. After that, he joined the Greek research institute NCSR and later started working at Fab 1, the Dresden facility of GlobalFoundries. In 2015, he joined Mapper, a Dutch startup that developed maskless lithography technology. In 2012, Mapper received financial support from «Rosnano» and built a small factory in Russia.
When Mapper went bankrupt at the end of 2018, ASML took over its assets and staff under pressure from the Dutch and US governments to protect the technology. Herman A. was among more than 100 engineers who moved to ASML, where he operated machines for the production of electro-optical components. The spy’s name appears in four patent applications related to ASML, the last of which was published only a month ago.
In January 2022, the Russian joined NXP on a temporary contract as a process engineer. In May of that year, he contacted the company to get a price from ASM International for a used chemical vapor deposition tool. Initially, the equipment was supposed to be shipped to Germany, but then the destination was changed to Israel, but the goods were never delivered. Now it is perceived as an attempt to assemble parts for a new production facility.
Statements by his ex-wife show that at the end of 2023, Herman was in contact with Russian researchers about building a factory in Russia capable of producing chips using 28-nm technology. That same year, he held a position at Delft University of Technology, but remained isolated from important research, and investigators found no signs of theft there.
In the past, ASML and NXP have also experienced breaches related to unauthorized access. At the end of 2023, a Chinese-linked cyber group was discovered to have been covertly operating at NXP for a long period of time. ASML often faces cyberattacks and insider threats: previously a former employee from China stole confidential data. Although he also did not have access to the full set of documentation, a wider network of agents could have obtained it. Both companies have now strengthened their security: internal systems limit data sharing between departments, and employee activity is monitored.
Source: Tom`s Hardware