The Silicon Mole

The case

On the night of 14 June, the CAD files for Project X9 – X-Tech’s new semiconductor prototype in Shenzhen – are copied out of the approved repository. At 08:20 the next morning a competitor shows slides with the same secret measurements.

The security report blames senior engineer Jian Wu: his badge was logged near the archive at the exact minute of the leak. But the transfer itself came through a remote maintenance account, and a huge supplier payment that same night has the board worried.

Who really took the design, how was the engineer framed – and which alarming records have nothing to do with it?

Your mission

• Find out who actually transferred the X9 design.
• Explain how Jian Wu came to look guilty.
• Sort the real clues from the alarming but unrelated records.
• Back up your accusation with at least three document numbers.

The people in the case

• 
  Aaron ValeExternal consultant
• 
  Chen RuiJunior developer
• 
  Jian WuSenior engineer
• 
  Lin MeiSecurity lead
• 
  Xu FeiProcurement officer

How Game Night works

1. Print the case file (15 documents) and sort it into the START folder and 2 sealed envelopes. The first page tells you how.
2. Investigate at the table. Share out the documents, compare times and statements, and argue it out. Your phone just stays on the table.
3. Open the envelopes when you've cracked each checkpoint. The site checks your answer and gives hints if you get stuck (each costs a point).
4. Make your accusation together: the culprit, three key questions and at least four pieces of evidence. You score up to 20 points – then reveal the full solution.

Hall of fame

No table has cracked this case yet. Will yours be the first?

All names, companies and events in this game are fictional.