Tagged: Privacy Practices

While most trade secrets cases are litigated in civil court, one former Microsoft employee learned the hard way that the theft of trade secrets is also a federal crime. Alex A. Kibkalo, a former Microsoft Corp. employee, was being prosecuted for leaking valuable company trade secrets to a blogger for publication. On March 31, 2014, Kibkalo’s counsel and the prosecution advised a district court judge in Washington that the government and Kibkalo had reached a plea agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Kibkalo will spend three months in federal prison and pay Microsoft Corp. restitution of $22,500.

In their latest effort to curb potential consumer privacy abuses, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy are challenging the potential misuse of data about WhatsApp users’ data as a result of WhatsApp’s acquisition by Facebook for $16 billion. WhatsApp is a popular App that allows users to send messages without the regular cost associated with SMS text messaging. According to the complaint, the company “processes over 10 billion messages per day from approximately 450 million users.”