Former Microsoft employee arrested for leaking trade secrets to blogger

SEATTLE – FBI agents have arrested a former Microsoft employee on charges that he stole Microsoft trade secrets and leaked them to a blogger.

Arrested Wednesday, federal prosecutors are accusing Alex A. Kibkalo of stealing trade secrets related to pre-release software updates for Windows 8 and Microsoft’s “Activation Server Software Development Kit,” and giving that information to a tech blogger in France.

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Kibkalo is a Russian national and former 7-year Microsoft employee who worked as a software architect in Lebanon, according to a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Western Washington. The Seattle Times reported that federal agents made the arrest Wednesday morning in Bellevue, where he was apparently travelling. He currently lives in Russia, according to the complaint.

Kibkalo could not be immediately reached for comment.