**The Silicon Valley Breach: FBI Takes Down Google Insider Spy Ring**
A massive shadow has just fallen over the heart of American innovation. In a surgical operation on **February 19, 2026**, the FBI arrested three high-level Silicon Valley engineers—including two former Google insiders—on charges of siphoning some of the world’s most sensitive hardware secrets to **Iran**.
This isn't just a corporate leak; it’s a calculated betrayal of national security. The group—sisters Samaneh and Soroor Ghandali and Samaneh’s husband, Mohammad Khosravi—is accused of exploiting their roles at Google and other tech giants like Intel and Qualcomm to steal proprietary data on **processor security, cryptography, and Tensor AI chips**.
The FBI’s indictment reads like a spy thriller:
* **The Exfiltration:** After Google systems flagged suspicious activity, the group allegedly resorted to manually photographing computer screens to bypass digital tracking.
* **The Iran Connection:** Prosecutors allege the trade secrets were accessed from personal devices during a December 2023 trip to Tehran.
* **The Cover-Up:** The group is charged with destroying evidence and signing false affidavits to blind federal investigators.
With the three now facing up to **20 years in prison** for obstruction and trade secret theft, the tech world is on high alert. The "insider threat" has moved from a theory to a frightening reality in the race for technological dominance.
**The walls of the Valley just got higher. Are we watching the end of the open-innovation era?**
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