Allegations that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy have rocked the tech world and Washington, but U.S. counterintelligence officials have long warned that Silicon Valley is a prime target for Chinese and other foreign intelligence services.
Chinese and Russian spying in Silicon Valley, along with similar activities by U.S. allies such as France and Israel, has long been something of an open secret. But tech companies and U.S. government officials have sometimes sought to downplay or suppress suspected espionage-related probes over fears that public exposure might wound firms’ business interests, say former FBI officials.
