India engineers arrested for selling source codes

India engineers arrested for selling source codes: Two software engineers from Bangalore, India, have been arrested for allegedly stealing software source codes from a local company and selling the codes to another local-based company.

Hyderabad-based technology vendor, MIC Technologies, lodged a report with cybercrime police claiming its patented software and technology information had been stolen and sold to a competitor based in Bangalore, according to a report by The Economic Times. Citing Additional Director-General of Police Krishna Prasad, the report said investigations revealed Bangalore-based GG Tronics was touting a product built on the patented technology.

Police said MIC’s then-general manager B.V Ramana was found to have been in contact with GG Tronics while still employed with MIC, and had stolen the source codes. Searches were carried out at GG Tronics and authorities found laptops, hard disks, portable storage drives, and CDs which contained the stolen software codes.

E-mail communications with details about the transfer of technology were also found on Ramana’s account, said local police, which added he had contacted several other companies to peddle the stolen codes. Ramana and another former MIC employee, M.N.S Srinivas, who aided in the theft were later detained by police.

The case has been filed under India’s IT Act and Indian Patents Act, and for criminal breach of trust and cheating under India’s penal code.