Ex-SoftBank engineer held for 5G trade secret theft
The Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday arrested a former engineer of SoftBank Corp. on suspicion of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law by illegally divulging trade secrets regarding the 5G fifth-generation telecommunications standard, the MPD said.
Kuniaki Aiba, 45, of Yokohama quit SoftBank and started working for Rakuten Mobile, Inc., one of its rival companies, last year.
The MPD will investigate how he may have used the information and his possible motives.
SoftBank on Tuesday announced its intention to file a civil suit against Rakuten Mobile to demand the company stop the use of the stolen information and discard it, claiming that it is highly likely that Rakuten Mobile is already using the information in some way.
Three major cell phone operators, NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank launched the 5G large capacity, ultrahigh-speed services in March last year. Rakuten Mobile joined them six months later in September with a bargain-price billing plan. The MPD suspects that the heated competition in the telecommunications industry set the environment for the case.
According to the investigators, Aiba is suspected of having accessed a SoftBank server using his personal computer from outside on Dec. 31, 2019, when he was still employed by the company. He allegedly then emailed himself a file that included technical information about 5G, thereby smuggling out the company’s trade secrets.
Aiba quit SoftBank on the same day and became employed by Rakuten Mobile on the following day, Jan. 1, 2020. It was shortly before Rakuten officially entered the cell phone business and was preparing to launch the 5G services soon.
According to SoftBank, the file that was taken contains technical information about base station facilities for 4G (the main telecommunications standard at present) and 5G, as well as about the fixed telecommunications network that links base stations and switching equipment. The company discovered the transfer of the file in February last year, two months after Aiba quit, and consulted the MPD about the case.
Aiba was employed by SoftBank in 2004. He is qualified via state examination as a chief line engineer, whose job includes management of wired networks for telecommunications. At SoftBank, he worked as a transmission engineer.
The 5G telecommunications standard enables users to send and receive a large volume of information at a high speed. It is said to be possible to download a two-hour film in about three seconds. To use 5G on smartphone, users need to acquire a 5G compatible smartphone. The problem with 5G right now is that it can be used only in limited areas, so smartphone operators are working hard to increase their number of base stations.
Kuniaki Aiba, 45, of Yokohama quit SoftBank and started working for Rakuten Mobile, Inc., one of its rival companies, last year.
The MPD will investigate how he may have used the information and his possible motives.
SoftBank on Tuesday announced its intention to file a civil suit against Rakuten Mobile to demand the company stop the use of the stolen information and discard it, claiming that it is highly likely that Rakuten Mobile is already using the information in some way.
Three major cell phone operators, NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank launched the 5G large capacity, ultrahigh-speed services in March last year. Rakuten Mobile joined them six months later in September with a bargain-price billing plan. The MPD suspects that the heated competition in the telecommunications industry set the environment for the case.
According to the investigators, Aiba is suspected of having accessed a SoftBank server using his personal computer from outside on Dec. 31, 2019, when he was still employed by the company. He allegedly then emailed himself a file that included technical information about 5G, thereby smuggling out the company’s trade secrets.
Aiba quit SoftBank on the same day and became employed by Rakuten Mobile on the following day, Jan. 1, 2020. It was shortly before Rakuten officially entered the cell phone business and was preparing to launch the 5G services soon.
According to SoftBank, the file that was taken contains technical information about base station facilities for 4G (the main telecommunications standard at present) and 5G, as well as about the fixed telecommunications network that links base stations and switching equipment. The company discovered the transfer of the file in February last year, two months after Aiba quit, and consulted the MPD about the case.
Aiba was employed by SoftBank in 2004. He is qualified via state examination as a chief line engineer, whose job includes management of wired networks for telecommunications. At SoftBank, he worked as a transmission engineer.
The 5G telecommunications standard enables users to send and receive a large volume of information at a high speed. It is said to be possible to download a two-hour film in about three seconds. To use 5G on smartphone, users need to acquire a 5G compatible smartphone. The problem with 5G right now is that it can be used only in limited areas, so smartphone operators are working hard to increase their number of base stations.
