New DOJ Technology Protection Team Makes First Charges

Last week, the Justice Department announced five cases it is prosecuting through the “Disruptive Technology Strike Force” it formed with the Commerce Department in February to prioritize cases involving illegal acquisition of sensitive technology by “nation-state adversaries.”

Two of the cases focus on technology exports to Russia, two on trade-secret theft benefiting China, and one on weapons programs in Iran. For instance, one of the China-focused cases involves an employee of a U.S. company who allegedly stole source code for 3D modeling technology he used to support his own company and who sought to participate in the Thousand Talents program sponsored by the Chinese government.

The cases were announced by the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Matt Olsen, who sunsetted the “China Initiative” label the department had used to prioritize cases involving China and replaced it with a broader framing involving additional countries. Many of the cases pursued under the China Initiative involved academic researchers, whereas none of the five cases from the strike force involve academics.