Russian espionage Engineer German A. is suspected of having sold trade secrets of ASML and NXP to Russia. His hard drives also contained documents from TSMC, and his name is on ASML patents. Is he a master spy or a failed 'operator'?
The ASML campus in Veldhoven.
His former colleagues describe him as “invisible,” a “loner” with a somewhat peculiar way of communicating. But the chip world is full of technicians with instructions. That is why no one at ASML or NXP suspected that their colleague German A., a 43-year-old Russian engineer, was secretly gathering information to build a chip factory in Russia.
On Thursday, the trial against A. will be held in Rotterdam for the alleged theft of trade secrets from chip machine manufacturer ASML and chip manufacturer NXP. The Public Prosecution Service accuses him of passing on manuals for the production of chips and chip machines.
These documents, A. thought, would help establish a new chip factory in Russia, which could supply the war industry. Missiles and drones need chips, but Russia barely has its own chip industry. Sanctions are throttling access to Western technology. A. saw an opportunity to earn some extra money with stolen knowledge. According to specialists NRC spoke to, this was fairly generic and "widespread" information, even though it was labeled "confidential."
A. has been in custody since August last year on suspicion of embezzlement and violating the sanctions law. The indictment shows that he had already gathered information well before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which he would later share with an accomplice in Russia, via apps and a shared Google drive. He is also said to have received money when he handed over a USB stick with documents in Moscow, after contacting the Russian intelligence service SVR. This service is actively involved in gathering knowledge about science and technology from foreign powers.
The engineer is facing, among other things, a twenty-year entry ban imposed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).
In 2015, he joined the Dutch company Mapper, a start-up that emerged from the TU Delft. Mapper worked on e-beam technology – bundled electron beams that can write chip patterns. This method was intended to compete with ASML's lithography machines, which work with light.
From 2012, Mapper had a major Russian investor, Rusnano. In exchange for that capital injection, Mapper built a factory in Moscow, which would produce MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) – chips with small lenses that focus electron beams. They used, among other things, an older lithography system from ASML.
At the end of 2018, Mapper went bankrupt, after which ASML took over the estate at the insistence of the Dutch government. Behind the scenes, the Pentagon put pressure on the Netherlands to prevent the sensitive technology from falling into Russian or Chinese hands . ASML bought the Mapper patents and at the beginning of 2019 hired more than a hundred Mapper engineers who, from Delft, used their electron beams for metrology, the inspection of chips. More than ten of them were Russian employees. Including A., who from that moment on worked under the ASML 'Applications' division.
A. was an operator, someone who operated the chip machines that make electro-optics. However, ASML decided to outsource the production of those components and A. turned out not to be the right person to manage the suppliers. He tried to "broaden" himself but lacked the necessary theoretical knowledge. The chip machine maker decided not to extend his contract after 2021.
Although he was not a high flyer, A.'s name is on four ASML patents, the last of which was published last month. How is that possible? Because patents are filed in multiple countries, there is a lot of time between the first filing and filing in other countries. The inventions in question are in the name of multiple people and it is not clear whether A. was the main inventor.
In the year that NXP hired A., he had little contact with his colleagues. In May 2022, he had requested a quote from a Nijmegen company for a second-hand chip machine from ASM International. It was a vapor deposition oven, which can be used to apply new layers to a chip. This machine was initially intended for a factory in Germany, but then A. changed the delivery address to Israel. However, the device was never delivered. It appears that he was trying to buy ingredients for a chip factory.
According to a statement from German A.'s ex-wife, he had contact with Russian scientists in late 2023 to build a new chip factory in Russia. The intention was to make 28 nm chips there (nanometer, a millionth of a millimeter). This is a fairly common technology; advanced chips are usually not needed for military applications.
In 2023, A. had a one-year contract with the Faculty of Applied Sciences at TU Delft. He also lived a secluded life there, but research has not shown that he stole documents from TU Delft.
However, A.'s hard drives contained files from chip manufacturers GlobalFoundries and TSMC. In the case of TSMC, the world's largest chip manufacturer, it would involve 88 different documents. It is not known which ones exactly. NXP is a customer of this Taiwanese company, ASML supplies chip machines to TSMC. The chip giant does not want to comment when asked.
According to NXP experts, most of the trade secrets fall into the category of 'technical assistance'. 105 ASML documents were also found on A.'s computers and telephones. Some of these are confidential presentations, but they are not blueprints for building chip machines, let alone an entire chip factory.
Former colleagues do not consider A. to be a shrewd master spy, but someone who threw away his already difficult career for cash - according to insiders, it would be around 40,000 euros. He probably received that money from a Russian company or the Russian intelligence service. He has since lost his own home, because the lease on his living space in Hilversum has been terminated.
Based on previous criminal cases against violation of the sanctions law, A. runs the risk of a prison sentence of 18 to 32 months. The Public Prosecution Service wants to set an example with this case: the Dutch economy is highly dependent on high-tech companies and that knowledge must be protected.
ASML and NXP have previously been victims of espionage. At the end of 2023, NRC reported that a group of hackers affiliated with China had been hiding in the NXP network for years . ASML is constantly under fire from hackers and must defend itself against theft 'from within'. For example, a former Chinese employee ran off with company secrets at the beginning of 2022 .
Both NXP and ASML have increased the security of their internal networks in recent years. There are digital 'walls' between the different departments, so that employees can only see a limited amount of data and an internal monitoring system records suspicious actions.
The log files of that system show, four years later, that on 16 and 17 December 2020, A. downloaded documents that he did not need for his work at all. However, no alarm went off at that time.
The ASML campus in Veldhoven.
His former colleagues describe him as “invisible,” a “loner” with a somewhat peculiar way of communicating. But the chip world is full of technicians with instructions. That is why no one at ASML or NXP suspected that their colleague German A., a 43-year-old Russian engineer, was secretly gathering information to build a chip factory in Russia.
On Thursday, the trial against A. will be held in Rotterdam for the alleged theft of trade secrets from chip machine manufacturer ASML and chip manufacturer NXP. The Public Prosecution Service accuses him of passing on manuals for the production of chips and chip machines.
These documents, A. thought, would help establish a new chip factory in Russia, which could supply the war industry. Missiles and drones need chips, but Russia barely has its own chip industry. Sanctions are throttling access to Western technology. A. saw an opportunity to earn some extra money with stolen knowledge. According to specialists NRC spoke to, this was fairly generic and "widespread" information, even though it was labeled "confidential."
A. has been in custody since August last year on suspicion of embezzlement and violating the sanctions law. The indictment shows that he had already gathered information well before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which he would later share with an accomplice in Russia, via apps and a shared Google drive. He is also said to have received money when he handed over a USB stick with documents in Moscow, after contacting the Russian intelligence service SVR. This service is actively involved in gathering knowledge about science and technology from foreign powers.
The engineer is facing, among other things, a twenty-year entry ban imposed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).
Electron beams
The Russian has been working for Dutch tech companies since 2015. How did he get there? He interned at the Belgian research institute IMEC in 2008 and 2009. He then went to work at the Greek research institute NCSR and worked at GlobalFoundries, in the Dresden factory of the American chip manufacturer.In 2015, he joined the Dutch company Mapper, a start-up that emerged from the TU Delft. Mapper worked on e-beam technology – bundled electron beams that can write chip patterns. This method was intended to compete with ASML's lithography machines, which work with light.
From 2012, Mapper had a major Russian investor, Rusnano. In exchange for that capital injection, Mapper built a factory in Moscow, which would produce MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) – chips with small lenses that focus electron beams. They used, among other things, an older lithography system from ASML.
At the end of 2018, Mapper went bankrupt, after which ASML took over the estate at the insistence of the Dutch government. Behind the scenes, the Pentagon put pressure on the Netherlands to prevent the sensitive technology from falling into Russian or Chinese hands . ASML bought the Mapper patents and at the beginning of 2019 hired more than a hundred Mapper engineers who, from Delft, used their electron beams for metrology, the inspection of chips. More than ten of them were Russian employees. Including A., who from that moment on worked under the ASML 'Applications' division.
Patents
However, A.'s career came to a standstill, according to conversations NRC had with people who know him. Due to the sensitivity of the case, they do not want their names in the newspaper. The suspect is described as "invisible" and "not a great light". But no one suspected that he would steal information.A. was an operator, someone who operated the chip machines that make electro-optics. However, ASML decided to outsource the production of those components and A. turned out not to be the right person to manage the suppliers. He tried to "broaden" himself but lacked the necessary theoretical knowledge. The chip machine maker decided not to extend his contract after 2021.
Although he was not a high flyer, A.'s name is on four ASML patents, the last of which was published last month. How is that possible? Because patents are filed in multiple countries, there is a lot of time between the first filing and filing in other countries. The inventions in question are in the name of multiple people and it is not clear whether A. was the main inventor.
Higher up the ladder
After ASML, A. went looking for a new job through employment agencies. He indicated that he wanted to do more research – a step up the ladder in the world of chip technology. That did not work out, but in 2022 he was able to start working as a hired process employee at NXP in Nijmegen. During the introductory interviews, he came across as a committed but introverted technician, who had difficulty communicating. "Angular and long-winded," say people who know him.In the year that NXP hired A., he had little contact with his colleagues. In May 2022, he had requested a quote from a Nijmegen company for a second-hand chip machine from ASM International. It was a vapor deposition oven, which can be used to apply new layers to a chip. This machine was initially intended for a factory in Germany, but then A. changed the delivery address to Israel. However, the device was never delivered. It appears that he was trying to buy ingredients for a chip factory.
According to a statement from German A.'s ex-wife, he had contact with Russian scientists in late 2023 to build a new chip factory in Russia. The intention was to make 28 nm chips there (nanometer, a millionth of a millimeter). This is a fairly common technology; advanced chips are usually not needed for military applications.
In 2023, A. had a one-year contract with the Faculty of Applied Sciences at TU Delft. He also lived a secluded life there, but research has not shown that he stole documents from TU Delft.
However, A.'s hard drives contained files from chip manufacturers GlobalFoundries and TSMC. In the case of TSMC, the world's largest chip manufacturer, it would involve 88 different documents. It is not known which ones exactly. NXP is a customer of this Taiwanese company, ASML supplies chip machines to TSMC. The chip giant does not want to comment when asked.
No blueprint
On August 28, 2024, German A. was arrested following an official report from the AIVD intelligence service. In October 2024, the legal departments of ASML and NXP received the message that A. is suspected of espionage. Both companies are cooperating with the investigation and have filed a complaint against the ex-employee.According to NXP experts, most of the trade secrets fall into the category of 'technical assistance'. 105 ASML documents were also found on A.'s computers and telephones. Some of these are confidential presentations, but they are not blueprints for building chip machines, let alone an entire chip factory.
Former colleagues do not consider A. to be a shrewd master spy, but someone who threw away his already difficult career for cash - according to insiders, it would be around 40,000 euros. He probably received that money from a Russian company or the Russian intelligence service. He has since lost his own home, because the lease on his living space in Hilversum has been terminated.
Based on previous criminal cases against violation of the sanctions law, A. runs the risk of a prison sentence of 18 to 32 months. The Public Prosecution Service wants to set an example with this case: the Dutch economy is highly dependent on high-tech companies and that knowledge must be protected.
ASML and NXP have previously been victims of espionage. At the end of 2023, NRC reported that a group of hackers affiliated with China had been hiding in the NXP network for years . ASML is constantly under fire from hackers and must defend itself against theft 'from within'. For example, a former Chinese employee ran off with company secrets at the beginning of 2022 .
Both NXP and ASML have increased the security of their internal networks in recent years. There are digital 'walls' between the different departments, so that employees can only see a limited amount of data and an internal monitoring system records suspicious actions.
The log files of that system show, four years later, that on 16 and 17 December 2020, A. downloaded documents that he did not need for his work at all. However, no alarm went off at that time.