A story that seemed to be straight out of a Hollywood film has just been revealed in a Dublin court, as a former employee of the tech company Rippling admitted to receiving payments in Ethereum to act as a spy for the competitor Deel. The case is shaking the tech industry and raising concerns about corporate espionage in the digital age.
Web3 tech espionage: Paid $5,000/month in Ethereum
Keith O’Brien, a citizen #Ireland , confessed in a sworn statement on April 1 that he had received $5,000 per month in Ethereum from Deel – a US-based HR management and payroll software company, to spy on internal information from the company he was working for – Rippling.
According to the testimony, from September 2024 to March 2025, O’Brien was still an employee of Rippling but secretly sent sensitive information daily via Telegram to Deel’s CEO – Alex Bouaziz. The disclosed information included:
Rippling's business strategy
Customer data
Internal search keywords on Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive such as: 'Tom Brady', 'Iran', 'tinybird', 'sanctioned countries'
O’Brien stated that Deel's CEO once joked that he would be 'James Bond' in the tech world. Notably, payments in $ETH were said to be 'trace-free', a sophisticated trick often seen in spy movies.
Tensions peak: Rippling sues Deel in federal court
Just weeks before O’Brien confessed, Rippling had officially filed a lawsuit against Deel in federal court in San Francisco, accusing the company of engaging in 'a deliberate and illegal corporate espionage scheme.'
This is the latest development in the showdown between two 'tech unicorns', previously valued at over $10 billion, that specialize in providing remote workforce management solutions. However, as remote work trends decline post-pandemic, competition among HR software companies has become fiercer than ever.
Last-minute panic: Cut the phone, nearly fled to Dubai
The case began to unravel in mid-March 2025, when an independent lawyer arrived at Rippling's office in Dublin and handed a search warrant for O’Brien's devices. That night, Deel’s lawyers spoke with O’Brien and suggested he and his family 'run away to Dubai.'
Immediately after that, O’Brien:
Factory reset the entire phone
Chop the device with an axe
Throw down the drain at his mother's house
All under direct orders from Deel's lawyers, according to O’Brien's testimony.
However, about two weeks later, he decided to confess. In his statement, O’Brien said:
'I realized that I was destroying myself and my family just to protect Deel. I still fear their power and assets, but I want to start correcting my mistakes.'
Is the crypto image getting 'caught in the crossfire'?
The incident also takes place against the backdrop of the cryptocurrency industry trying to clean up its image after a series of scandals. Crypto organizations continuously assert that digital assets are not just for bad actors. However, O’Brien’s story inadvertently reinforces the opposing viewpoint that crypto can be used to conceal illegal activities, especially with transactions that bypass traditional banking.
It is noteworthy that payments in #Ethereum were carefully calculated to 'leave no trace', and O’Brien had to transfer ETH to Blockchain.com, cash it out, and then transfer it back to his personal bank account – indicating that the anonymity and traceability of these transactions remain a 'double-edged sword'.
Civil war among HRTech unicorns
Rippling and Deel were once the shining stars of the HR technology industry, backed by top investment funds. While Deel specializes in supporting international payroll and global workforce management, Rippling focuses on an 'all-in-one' solution for businesses.
However, with the decline of remote work trends, shrinking market shares, and growth pressure, the competition between the two companies has become fierce, to the point where one side had to resort to espionage.
Conclusion: Modern technology, tricks also 'modernize'
Keith O’Brien’s story is not only a warning about corporate espionage in the digital age but also highlights the dangerous intersection between blockchain technology and illegal behavior.
Paying spies with Ethereum – once thought to be an 'unbelievable' method – has now become a reality. In a world where everything is digitized, 'James Bond' can also appear in Slack, and payments can be made with crypto wallets.
⚠️ Risk warning: Cryptocurrency can offer many utilities, but it can also be misused for illegal purposes. This article does not endorse any illegal activities and is not investment advice. Investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough research before participating in the crypto space.
