Three Iranian Engineers Indicted for Google Trade Secret Theft

Three Silicon Valley engineers, all Iranian nationals, were arrested and indicted Thursday on federal charges accusing them of conspiring to steal trade secrets from Google and other major technology companies, then transferring sensitive data to unauthorized locations, including Iran.

The defendants, identified as Samaneh Ghandali, 41, her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, who is married to Samaneh Ghandali, face charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California and unsealed in San Jose, alleges the trio exploited their positions at companies developing mobile computer processors to access confidential information related to processor security, cryptography, and advanced technologies. They made initial court appearances Thursday in federal court in San Jose and are scheduled to return Friday for identification of counsel.

Prosecutors say Samaneh and Soroor Ghandali worked at Google before moving to another technology firm, while Khosravi was employed at a separate company in the same field....