Exelis claims KEYW, former employees stole trade secrets

Exelis and one of its subsidiaries has filed a $45 million lawsuit against six of its former employees and KEYW Corp. for conspiring to steal trade secrets, FedBiz Daily is reporting.

The former employees allegedly shared bidding and pricing information via e-mail to KEYW, their current employer, giving KEYW an unfair advantage in a competition with Exelis. The suit cites that the employees detailed a plan to transition intellectual property of Exelis’ subsidiary, EVI Technology LLC, to KEYW over the course of 12 to 18 months, FedBiz Daily reported.

Among the shared information were specific customer agencies, task orders, programs and projects that the former employees allegedly intended to capture for KEYW in 2013 and early 2014. The e-mail was said to also identify 27 Exelis employees who could help the transition, 23 of which now work at KEYW, FedBiz Daily said.