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A Chinese military-linked researcher was caught by U.S. authorities at the airport attempting to flee to China with highly advanced computer code he stole from a U.S. university that could be used for underwater robots and aircraft engines, according to the FBI.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Hu Haizhou, a researcher from the University of Virginia’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering discovered to also work for a Chinese military-linked university too, before he could board a flight to Qingdao, China, from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, said an FBI special agent in an 11-page affidavit filed on Friday in federal court in Virginia.
According to the agent, Matthew Rader, CBP investigators questioned Hu and searched his electronic devices, which revealed UVA-research-related files stored on his laptop, including “bio-inspired research simulation software code” developed by “Professor 1.” Bio-inspired research relates to studying the complexities of flying and swimming creatures in nature and applying that to manned flight or submersibles — often with military applications.
Hu “did not have lawful, authorized access to this material, and he admitted that Professor 1 would not want him to have it and would be upset to learn that HU possessed it," the FBI said. The professor, who runs the multiuniversity Flow Simulations Group, has been developing this code over the last 17 years and is sponsored by the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. The FBI special agent said that probable cause existed to charge Hu federally with fraud-related illicit computer intrusions and the theft of trade secrets. The Washington Examiner can confirm Hu was arrested.
Hu had worked for the professor from March 2019 through August 2019, and the professor told investigators that Hu had left the university abruptly to return to China without saying goodbye. Hu told investigators that he also works for the Chinese Key Laboratory for Fluid Dynamics at China’s Beihang University, which receives funding from the Chinese government as well as specifically from the Chinese air force. Hu had seen the professor give a lecture on “biomimics in aerodynamics” at the Chinese university in 2017 and had approached the professor to do research for him in the United States, Rader said. Hu had also attended China’s Harbin University, where he worked for its Key Laboratory for Underwater Robot Technology, which he admitted was, “of course,” funded by China’s so-called People’s Liberation Army, the affidavit said.
Hu said that “he was directed by the Chinese Scholarship Council to upload summary reports regarding his UVA research every 6 months," Rader said. Hu told investigators he was trying to take all of his UVA research with him to China.
Investigators found approximately 9,600 source code files using the FORTRAN computer language on Hu’s laptop tied to “bio-inspired learning, research, and modeling.” The professor said those codes were used in simulations tied to research funded by the NSF. The professor said that his “core code” was “proprietary.” Investigators found that Hu had absconded with 55 of the core code files, which the professor said, “constituted the entirety of his core code he had been developing over the last 17 years.”
When interviewed by investigators, the professor “described the core code as the preeminent bio-inspired research simulation software in the world” and said its uses include “underwater robotics, submersible vehicles, aircraft engines, and other marine and aerospace applications," according to the affidavit. The professor said he received many requests to use the code but “has not shared it because he wishes to maintain his — and the University of Virginia’s — unique competitive advantage in conducting research in the bio-inspired fluid mechanics field.” The professor “was extremely concerned with the prospect of his core code being taken for use outside his research lab, as it … could be exploited for various commercial, governmental and military applications by other entities, including universities, companies, or countries," the affidavit said.
The professor said Hu had asked for access to the professor’s core code numerous times and that both he and his two authorized graduate assistants had denied Hu’s access each time. The professor and his two assistants told investigators they hadn’t given Hu access, and the FBI did not specifically reveal how he had stolen the computer code.
"The University of Virginia is aware of the arrest and charges against a former visiting scholar," Wesley Hester, the director of media relations at the University of Virginia, told the Washington Examiner. "We have been and continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement in connection with the investigation of theft of University trade secrets. Because this remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation, we will have no further comment at this time."
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe recently said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that “China poses a greater national security threat to the U.S. than any other nation — economically, militarily and technologically. That includes threats of election influence and interference.”
Multiple members of the Chinese military have been charged by the Justice Department in recent weeks for concealing their ties to China's military and allegedly committing visa fraud while acting as students or researchers at U.S. universities. A number of researchers have also been arrested recently for concealing their ties to China’s Thousand Talents program while receiving U.S. government grants.
The Justice Department’s China Initiative aims to combat Chinese espionage, and the U.S. has arrested and charged a number of scientists, including Harvard’s chemistry department chairman, Charles Lieber.
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USA v. Haizhou Hu - Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint
A Chinese military-linked researcher was caught by U.S. authorities at the airport attempting to flee to China with highly advanced computer code he stole from a U.S. university that could be used for underwater robots and aircraft engines, according to the FBI.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Hu Haizhou, a researcher from the University of Virginia’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering discovered to also work for a Chinese military-linked university too, before he could board a flight to Qingdao, China, from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, said an FBI special agent in an 11-page affidavit filed on Friday in federal court in Virginia.
According to the agent, Matthew Rader, CBP investigators questioned Hu and searched his electronic devices, which revealed UVA-research-related files stored on his laptop, including “bio-inspired research simulation software code” developed by “Professor 1.” Bio-inspired research relates to studying the complexities of flying and swimming creatures in nature and applying that to manned flight or submersibles — often with military applications.
Hu “did not have lawful, authorized access to this material, and he admitted that Professor 1 would not want him to have it and would be upset to learn that HU possessed it," the FBI said. The professor, who runs the multiuniversity Flow Simulations Group, has been developing this code over the last 17 years and is sponsored by the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. The FBI special agent said that probable cause existed to charge Hu federally with fraud-related illicit computer intrusions and the theft of trade secrets. The Washington Examiner can confirm Hu was arrested.
Hu had worked for the professor from March 2019 through August 2019, and the professor told investigators that Hu had left the university abruptly to return to China without saying goodbye. Hu told investigators that he also works for the Chinese Key Laboratory for Fluid Dynamics at China’s Beihang University, which receives funding from the Chinese government as well as specifically from the Chinese air force. Hu had seen the professor give a lecture on “biomimics in aerodynamics” at the Chinese university in 2017 and had approached the professor to do research for him in the United States, Rader said. Hu had also attended China’s Harbin University, where he worked for its Key Laboratory for Underwater Robot Technology, which he admitted was, “of course,” funded by China’s so-called People’s Liberation Army, the affidavit said.
Hu said that “he was directed by the Chinese Scholarship Council to upload summary reports regarding his UVA research every 6 months," Rader said. Hu told investigators he was trying to take all of his UVA research with him to China.
Investigators found approximately 9,600 source code files using the FORTRAN computer language on Hu’s laptop tied to “bio-inspired learning, research, and modeling.” The professor said those codes were used in simulations tied to research funded by the NSF. The professor said that his “core code” was “proprietary.” Investigators found that Hu had absconded with 55 of the core code files, which the professor said, “constituted the entirety of his core code he had been developing over the last 17 years.”
When interviewed by investigators, the professor “described the core code as the preeminent bio-inspired research simulation software in the world” and said its uses include “underwater robotics, submersible vehicles, aircraft engines, and other marine and aerospace applications," according to the affidavit. The professor said he received many requests to use the code but “has not shared it because he wishes to maintain his — and the University of Virginia’s — unique competitive advantage in conducting research in the bio-inspired fluid mechanics field.” The professor “was extremely concerned with the prospect of his core code being taken for use outside his research lab, as it … could be exploited for various commercial, governmental and military applications by other entities, including universities, companies, or countries," the affidavit said.
The professor said Hu had asked for access to the professor’s core code numerous times and that both he and his two authorized graduate assistants had denied Hu’s access each time. The professor and his two assistants told investigators they hadn’t given Hu access, and the FBI did not specifically reveal how he had stolen the computer code.
"The University of Virginia is aware of the arrest and charges against a former visiting scholar," Wesley Hester, the director of media relations at the University of Virginia, told the Washington Examiner. "We have been and continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement in connection with the investigation of theft of University trade secrets. Because this remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation, we will have no further comment at this time."
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe recently said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that “China poses a greater national security threat to the U.S. than any other nation — economically, militarily and technologically. That includes threats of election influence and interference.”
Multiple members of the Chinese military have been charged by the Justice Department in recent weeks for concealing their ties to China's military and allegedly committing visa fraud while acting as students or researchers at U.S. universities. A number of researchers have also been arrested recently for concealing their ties to China’s Thousand Talents program while receiving U.S. government grants.
The Justice Department’s China Initiative aims to combat Chinese espionage, and the U.S. has arrested and charged a number of scientists, including Harvard’s chemistry department chairman, Charles Lieber.
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USA v. Haizhou Hu - Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint
