Intel Corporation has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against a former software engineer who allegedly downloaded about 18,000 confidential files labeled “Intel Top Secret” and subsequently disappeared.
The case is an excellent example of the data security risks associated with company layoffs.
The lawsuit reported that Jinfeng Luo, an employee since 2014, was terminated in July 2025.
In the days before his departure, Luo allegedly made various attempts to transfer huge amounts of data.
Initially failing 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 his remaining time at Intel downloading a treasure trove of confidential company assets.
Within no time, the company discovered the data breach shortly after he transferred the data. The lawsuit stated that over the past three months, the company has made several attempts to contact Luo via calls, emails and letters.
But there is no reaction from his side. This encourages legal action to recover the company’s stolen property.
“Luo has refused to engage with Intel at all,” the lawsuit states, “let alone return the files.”
The incident took place amid a massive, ongoing reduction in force at Intel, which has seen 35,000 jobs cut in recent years.
The company has a history of pursuing legal action against former employees for data theft; another former engineer was recently sentenced to probation and a fine for stealing data to allegedly secure a job at Microsoft.
Intel is now seeking $250,000 in damages and the return of all stolen information from Luo, whose current whereabouts remain unknown.
