According to a recent article posted by the online edition of the Boston Globe newspaper, a former Intel employee has been accused of stealing critical information from the Santa Clara-based leading chip maker. In addition, the details have been revealed after he took a new job at Intel's long-time competitor Advanced Micro Devices.

 

Biswahoman Pani of Worcester has been accused, in a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, of having copied a number of confidential Intel documents, including 13 "top secret" company files that contained critical and highly sensitive design plans of the company's upcoming processor chips. According to FBI Special Agent Timothy Russel of the bureau's Boston computer crime squad, Biswahoman Pani succeeded in copying more than 100 pages of sensitive Intel documents, as well as 19 computer-aided-design drawings, all of which were found in his house, following a search conducted on July 1.

 

According to a sworn statement by Timothy Russel, Pani was unhappy that he couldn't see his wife very often, as she worked at an Intel facility in California. On May 29, the Santa Clara company agreed to transfer her to the Hudson plant, but a few hours after the transfer was approved Pani handed in his resignation claiming he was interested in taking a job with a hedge fund.

 

His actual reasons were totally different as, according to Russel, Intel's former employee had been negotiating a possible job at AMD for several months. He started working for Advanced Micro Devices on June 2, eight days before his contract with Intel ended, which means he still had access to his Intel laptop and the company's computer network. Russel said that Pani took advantage of his situation to collect sensitive documents.

 

"Intellectual property is a critical asset for Intel," said company spokeswoman Claudine Mangano. "We basically asked the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate activities, and we are cooperating with that investigation."

 

Pani has not been taken into custody, but he was ordered to surrender his passport. "My client vigorously maintains his innocence and plans to fight these charges in court," said R. Bradford Bailey, Pani's attorney.