Replace Nvidia’s name in this headline with your company. There are lessons for all corporates in the systems that broke down at the world’s most critical enterprise.
Every CEO should have a Chief of Staff (CoS). And every large company should have a Head of Security, who reports directly to the CoS. If you’re a mega-corp (tech, energy, transport), both the CoS and Head of Security should have a relationship with the intelligence community.
A CoS and their team should know where their principal is going to be, who they will be with, and why. Each event in the schedule should be assessed to measure the physical, cyber, and political risk and benefits to each interaction.
The security team should be constantly monitoring for the CEO being dangled and nurtured, either opportunistically or as part of a targeted campaign.
It’s not (publicly) clear yet whether Huang Le was an opportunistic agent or long-term non-official cover (NOC) officer of the China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). There are a couple of likely scenarios:
Opportunistic Agent: Megaspeed International was a genuine Singaporean company and Huang Le a legitimate private individual operating as CEO. She developed a commercial - and then personal - relationship with Jensen Huang. China’s MSS subsequently approached her and incentivised or pressured her to become an agent for MSS working at the direction of Chinese intelligence officers.
Targeted NOC Officer: Huang Le was employed by MSS for decades as an non-official cover intelligence officer. She developed a resume, includlng working as a presenter on state television, that appears the opposite of secret intelligence work. Megaspeed was created with Chinese state support and she was placed in that role to smuggle advanced Nvidia chips to China and gain direct access and influence to Jensen Huang.
The US Government will know which path China followed. They’re also aware that MSS has thousands of similar officers and agents targeting executives of corporations across Japan, South Korea, Australia, Europe, and North America. You should be aware, too.