On May 10, a man was arrested at Brussels Airport just as he was about to board a flight to Beijing. According to De Tijd (in Dutch), Belgian investigators suspect he passed trade secrets from Belgan, the chipmaker from Oudenaarde, to China after Chinese investors took over the company in 2022.
It reads like a spy novel. It is also a deeply human story. And that is exactly why it matters far beyond the chip sector.
What happened at Belgan
Belgan ran one of the few industrial chip factories in Europe and specialized in gallium nitride (GaN) chips. GaN chips handle power faster and more efficiently than traditional silicon, which makes them essential for EV chargers, solar and wind energy, aerospace, and defense.
This spring, acting on a tip from Belgian State Security, the federal prosecutor opened an investigation into economic espionage. Investigators suspect that after the 2022 takeover, the company was deliberately drained so its patents, intellectual property, and manufacturing secrets could flow to Gankool, a Chinese counterpart producing the same technology at a larger scale. Belgan went bankrupt in 2024, and more than 400 people lost their jobs.
The warning signs came early. A 2023 report by French patent analysts KnowMade revealed that the arrested engineer was also chief technology officer at Gankool. Belgan’s CEO at the time reportedly chaired Gankool as well. And the deal closed in 2022, a year before Belgium began screening foreign investments in strategic companies.
The investigation is ongoing, and the suspect denies the charges. Everyone involved is presumed innocent until a court decides otherwise.
Why this is a people story
What stands out is not a sophisticated hack. The leak ran through people. Through trust, through titles, through the access that comes with a job and a seat at the table.
Before joining Belgan, the engineer spent twelve years as a senior scientist at imec, the Leuven research center. Expertise, relationships, credibility. These are exactly what make someone valuable. They are also what make someone interesting to others. De Tijd has since asked whether the risk extends to imec itself (in Dutch).
That is how economic espionage works today. It follows people. The researcher with rare knowledge. The executive who shapes strategy. The board member who sees the deal before anyone else does.
The useful question for any organization isn’t where someone comes from. It’s what they can access, and who else might want it. And people’s private lives are crucial in how they are approached: through a personal account, a conversation that seems coincidental, or someone close to them.
Nobody needs to break into your company if your personal life already tells them what they want to know.
Where personal and corporate risk meet
For security leaders, this is the uncomfortable gap. You can harden every system you own, yet the people with the most access spend much of their lives outside the company perimeter. Their personal phones, inboxes, and family accounts are part of the company’s attack surface, even if they never show up on your dashboard.
Four habits that make the difference
A few practical habits can already make a real difference.
01Know what your footprint says about you
Look at what’s publicly visible about your role, your projects, and your network. Then decide what actually needs to be out there.
02Treat travel as part of your security
Your devices, your connections, and your conversations travel with you. A little preparation before you leave goes a long way.
03Keep your personal and professional worlds separated, but equally protected
Work files belong in work systems. Personal accounts deserve the same care as corporate ones, because to an outsider they are often the same door.
04Ask the governance questions early
Belgan shows what happens when questions about investors and dual roles are answered too late. Board members are the ones best placed to ask who is really behind a deal, and what access comes with it.
Protection that follows your people
The answer to Belgan’s case isn’t to stop collaborating. International talent and partnerships are what drive innovation worldwide. What the case does show is where the risk really lives. For the people your organization depends on most, it doesn’t stop at the office door. It follows them home, into their personal inboxes, their phones, and their families. Their protection should follow them there too. That’s how your most important people stay hard to compromise.
Extend protection to where your people live. We protect the personal digital lives of your leaders and their families, so the people your organization depends on stay hard to compromise, at work and at home. Talk to an expert.