Samsung, Hynix, Applied Materials in corporate espionage shocker!
In the cut-throat world of high tech manufacturing, "going rogue" is an ever-present temptation -- and no one, from AMD to LG, is immune from scandal. For the latest bit of corporate shenanigans, look no further than Applied Materials, who installs and maintains Samsung's chip manufacturing equipment -- prosecutors in South Korea have accused the company of stealing the latter's semiconductor technology and leaking it to Hynix Semiconductor (who ranks third in the world in the manufacture of NAND flash, behind Samsung and Toshiba). According to the AP, eighteen people have been indicted in the case so far, including the vice president of Applied Materials Korea. We just hope they didn't get the idea from us! That is definitely not the message we're trying to impart with this site.