Former Microsoft employee Alex Kibkalo, who two weeks ago was charged with stealing -- then leaking -- company secrets, pleaded guilty on Monday in a Seattle federal court.



From Computerworld:

In a plea deal reached between U.S. prosecutors and Kibkalo's public defender, Kibkalo will plead guilty to theft of trade secrets. In return, prosecutors will recommend a three-month prison sentence. Kibkalo will also be required to pay Microsoft $22,500 in restitution, according to the agreement.

Kibkalo, a Russian national who was working in Microsoft's Lebanon office when he was terminated in September 2012, allegedly stole pre-release copies of Windows RT and the Activation Server SDK (software development kit), internal-only code used to create the activation systems which validate product keys, Microsoft's primary anti-piracy technology.

  Ex-Microsoft employee pleads guilty to trade secret theft