Boeing Proprietary Theft Trial Begins

On March 25, 2008 the trial of former Boeing employee Gerald Eastman got underway.

It started off with Judge Monica Benton giving a stark warning and rebuke to Eastman, who had arrived late.

“You’re either on time, or you’re in jail,”.

Eastman is charged with theft of Boeing data and 16 counts of computer infraction and then passing the company data on to various Seattle newspapers, most notably the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Having worked at the company for over 18 years, Eastman was unceremoniously arrested at his desk in May 2006. For three years, Boeing’s own investigative team had no luck in identifying the source of the leaks to the press until a tip off had named Eastman as the individual trawling through the Boeing network for proprietary and sensitive information he could use to threaten his employer with.

Image courtesy of Boeing

In this article from the Seattle-PI, Eastman wanted to be paid off in exchange for his silence on alleged quality assurance problems within Boeing.

“Eastman mentioned an out-of-court settlement with Boeing,” [senior deputy prosecutor Scott] Peterson said. “He wanted that money to keep quiet.“

A former manager went on to state that there was “no need” for Eastman see anything related to the 787 Dreamliner, finance or other legal documents.

Again, from the Seattle-PI article we see that Eastman contravened all of this.

“Among the leaked data were production rate numbers and information on where Boeing would build its 787, about how much labor was required to build the 787, and about assembly times and sales figures.“

Regardless of the eventual outcome of this trial, it serves to remind employees of the company and those outside of it that usage of proprietary information is tantamount to theft. Otherwise Eastman would never have been put on trial.

But he is on trial and it serves as an ample warning that the reach of the law extends to all and sundry in their pursuit of some personal glory in using proprietary and leaked information. While it’s very easy to argue that it is the responsibility of the company to ensure leaks are plugged, equally, those working on sensitive and highly talked about projects, such as the 787 Dreamliner would do well to remember that by divulging confidential information into the public domain is not without its risks - risks for the sender and risks for the recipient.

One thing that is certain is that such people can be caught out - Eastman on trial is ample proof of that.

5 comments March 28th, 2008