Iranian Sisters, Man Charged with Tech Theft

0:00On March 24, federal prosecutors have indicted two Iranian sisters and a third man on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and other major. Tech companies to benefit Iran. The suspects are 41-year-olds Samane Gandali, her 32-year-old sister, Sora War Gandali, and 40-year-old Mohammad Javad Khosravi, all. From San Jose, they were arrested in mid-February and have pleaded not guilty to accounts including conspiracy, theft of secrets, and obstruction of justice. The three help trusted jobs at Google and unnamed firms working on advanced chips and security systems. Investigators say they grab hundreds of sensitive files on things like processor tech, cryptography and mobile chips, then move them to personal. Devices in overseas storage, including Iran, FBI officials call it a bold insider plot that betrayed their employers. If convicted, each could get up to 10 years per theft count and 20 years for obstruction. The case highlights how hard it is to spot employees with legit access turning against

1:02their companies. The sisters are daughters of a former Iranian official linked to a huge embezzlement scandal and Khosravi served in Iran's army. All are Iranian nationals, with one a U.S. citizen and another a permanent resident. Let's say this fits Iran's pattern of using networks to snag restricted U.S. tech amid sanctions. As tensions rise between the U.S. and Iran, this bust underscores growing worries over insider threats to tech and national security, especially with cyber attacks ramping up alongside regional conflicts.