(Web Desk) - There is a rule for video calls at work - close any files you don't want others to see before sharing your screen.
According to a lawsuit filed against tech giant Nvidia, senior staff member Mohammad Moniruzzaman made this error with disastrous consequences.
He was giving an online presentation to a team from his former employer, car technology firm Valeo.
But in the course of it, Valeo claims he accidentally displayed a file proving he stole its tech secrets.
The tech that Valeo claims he took was the source code behind its parking and driving assistance software - an area Nvidia has been trying to expand into.
"So brazen was Mr Moniruzzaman's theft," the complaint alleges, "the file path on his screen still read ValeoDocs" - suggesting it was a folder specifically containing documents taken from Valeo.
Valeo claims Mr Moniruzzaman took gigabytes of data in 2021 when he was working for the German arm of the French firm. He left to join Nvidia later that year.
A letter written by Nvidia's lawyers submitted with the lawsuit said the tech giant was not aware Mr Moniruzzaman had the data.
The firms worked on a joint project, which led to the Microsoft Teams meeting in March 2022 when Mr Moniruzzaman unwittingly revealed the data. SCREENSHOTS: Valeo claims that Mr Moniruzzaman gave a slide presentation and then minimised the app he was using - but crucially, he was still sharing his screen, leaving visible the file which Valeo says contained the source code behind its proprietary software.
"Valeo participants on the videoconference call immediately recognised the source code and took a screenshot before Mr Moniruzzaman was alerted of his error," the lawsuit claims. "By then, it was too late to cover his tracks."
As a result Mr Moniruzzaman was convicted by German authorities in September 2023 over unlawfully holding the data, the court document says.