Intel Corporation has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against a former software engineer who allegedly downloaded approximately 18,000 confidential files labeled “Intel Top Secret” and subsequently disappeared.
This case is a prime example of the data security risks associated with corporate layoffs.
The lawsuit says Jinfeng Luo, employed since 2014, was terminated in July 2025.
In the days before his departure, Luo reportedly repeatedly attempted to transfer large amounts of data.
Initially, it failed to copy files to an external drive blocked by company security. He successfully transferred data to a network attached storage (NAS) device three days before his last day.
He then spent the rest of his time at Intel downloading a trove of confidential company assets.
In a short time, the company detected the data breach shortly after the data transfer. The lawsuit said the company made multiple attempts over the past three months to contact Luo via calls, emails and letters.
But there is no response from him. This gives rise to legal action to recover the property stolen from the business.
“Luo refused to even engage with Intel,” the lawsuit says, “let alone return the files.”
The incident occurred amid ongoing massive downsizing at Intel, which has seen 35,000 job cuts in recent years.
The company has a history of filing lawsuits against former employees for data theft; another former engineer was recently sentenced to probation and a fine for stealing data in an alleged attempt to get a job at Microsoft.
Intel is now seeking $250,000 in damages and restitution of all information stolen from Luo, whose current whereabouts are unknown.
