Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, have arrested two executives from U.S. semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) alleging they stole Samsung process technology details and passed them on to Hynix, according to local reports.
The information stolen included manufacturing process technology details for DRAMs and NAND flash memory as well as investment plans for chip production, which were passed on to Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the reports said.
The identity of the indicted executives is not clear. One is identified by his family name as Kwak, according to a Korea Herald report. The other is said to be an official at the South Korean subsidiary of Applied Materials. A Hynix executive identified by family name Han was accused of receiving the stolen information, the report said.
The information was passed to Hynix between March 2005 and December 2009 and has cost Samsung more than $100 million, the report said. Hynix said the leaked information could not have been used in its chip-making process, the reports said.
"This case reveals that while memory chip makers have maintained tight security against competitors, business partners like equipment companies have had relatively easy access to trade secrets," a Yonhap report quoted an official at the prosecutor's office as saying.
By: DocMemory
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