Future Nikon Designs Stolen....!
Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:32 pmSorry guys, not quite what you may have been thinking but interesting anyway:
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Ex-Nikon worker 'gave Russians dual-use device'
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A former Nikon Corp. researcher and an official from the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan were referred to prosecutors Thursday on suspicion the researcher had supplied the Russian with a stolen communications device.
The MPD's Public Security Bureau alleged that the 47-year-old former senior researcher stole the device, which can be used for military purposes, from the company and passed it off to the 35-year-old Russian.
The Russian trade official belongs to the Chief Administration for Intelligence (GRU)--Russia's military intelligence unit. According to the MPD, the device has already been sent to Russia.
Public Safety Bureau investigators assumed the Russian official aimed to illegally obtain Japan's advanced technology to improve the Russian military's telecommunications infrastructure.
Though the MPD bureau asked the Russian official to voluntarily appear before the police on Aug. 1, he left for Russia on Aug. 2.
According to the investigators, the researcher stole the device, called a variable optical attenuator (VOA), for which he had led the development, in February last year, while working at Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based Nikon.
The VOA is used to control the intensity of light passing through fiber optics, and is seen as essential in the high-speed transmission of large volumes of information. Nikon considers the VOA top secret.
According to the investigators, the Russian official came to Japan in late 2003 and approached the researcher in spring 2004 during a business exhibition in Tokyo.
The two allegedly held secret meetings more than 10 times at bars and other locations in Tokyo. Initially the Russian asked for only research documents, but gradually he began to request more sensitive information. The Russian rewarded the researcher with tens of thousands of yen, also asking for other data, such as infrared sensor technology, which can improve the targeting accuracy of missiles.
In the wake of a similar case last autumn involving an employee at a Toshiba Corp. subsidiary and a suspected Russian spy, the researcher stopped meeting with the Russian official and did not provide the data for the infrared sensor.
The researcher resigned from Nikon in March this year, citing dissatisfaction with his employment contract.
(Aug. 11, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060811TDY01002.htm
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Ex-Nikon worker 'gave Russians dual-use device'
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A former Nikon Corp. researcher and an official from the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan were referred to prosecutors Thursday on suspicion the researcher had supplied the Russian with a stolen communications device.
The MPD's Public Security Bureau alleged that the 47-year-old former senior researcher stole the device, which can be used for military purposes, from the company and passed it off to the 35-year-old Russian.
The Russian trade official belongs to the Chief Administration for Intelligence (GRU)--Russia's military intelligence unit. According to the MPD, the device has already been sent to Russia.
Public Safety Bureau investigators assumed the Russian official aimed to illegally obtain Japan's advanced technology to improve the Russian military's telecommunications infrastructure.
Though the MPD bureau asked the Russian official to voluntarily appear before the police on Aug. 1, he left for Russia on Aug. 2.
According to the investigators, the researcher stole the device, called a variable optical attenuator (VOA), for which he had led the development, in February last year, while working at Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based Nikon.
The VOA is used to control the intensity of light passing through fiber optics, and is seen as essential in the high-speed transmission of large volumes of information. Nikon considers the VOA top secret.
According to the investigators, the Russian official came to Japan in late 2003 and approached the researcher in spring 2004 during a business exhibition in Tokyo.
The two allegedly held secret meetings more than 10 times at bars and other locations in Tokyo. Initially the Russian asked for only research documents, but gradually he began to request more sensitive information. The Russian rewarded the researcher with tens of thousands of yen, also asking for other data, such as infrared sensor technology, which can improve the targeting accuracy of missiles.
In the wake of a similar case last autumn involving an employee at a Toshiba Corp. subsidiary and a suspected Russian spy, the researcher stopped meeting with the Russian official and did not provide the data for the infrared sensor.
The researcher resigned from Nikon in March this year, citing dissatisfaction with his employment contract.
(Aug. 11, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060811TDY01002.htm