A federal indictment unsealed Monday accuses a Chinese telecommunications company of stealing technology from Illinois-based Motorola Solutions, in another case highlighting longstanding fears about China pilfering vital US business secrets to bolster its own economy.
The Chicago filing charges Hytera Communications, with conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, alleging it recruited several Motorola employees as part of the scheme. They are accused of accessing Motorola’s internal database, then described and even joked about plans to use the stolen material at Hytera.
The secrets regard digital mobile radio technology Motorola developed for walkie-talkie type features on cellphones. For over a decade, from 2007 to 2020, Hytera used thousands of stolen documents to accelerate its development of similar features, the indictment says.
In a 2008 email cited in the indictment, one unnamed individual writes to another that, “We are trying to grab whatever we can. … Do you have anything in mind that you need while we are still here?” In another, someone writes “haha” after…
