Draft:Ma Nianli Wang (Lead System Analyst)

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{{AFC comment|1=What is this article about? There is no explanation of why they were investigated and removed from their positions. Why is Ma Nianli Wang notable? JSFarman (talk) 00:57, 19 April 2025 (UTC)}}

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Nianli Ma Wang (also known as Ma Nianli Wang) was a systems analyst and programmer who worked at the Indiana University Bloomington Library Technologies division (Herman B Wells Library). Her husband is Xiaofeng Wang, a computer scientist and tenured professor with more than 2 decades at Indiana University Bloomington. But there has been a lot of recent movement on both people..{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Lain |date=March 31, 2025 |title=Top cybersecurity boffin, wife vanish as FBI raids homes |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/31/indiana_cybersecurity_professor_fbi/ |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=The Register}}

Personal Life

Before they were being investigated, Ma Nianli lived in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband, Xiaofeng Wang. Their marriage has been mentioned in reports involving the F.B.I. searches, and Wang’s later disassociation from the university.{{Cite magazine |last1=Yang |first1=Zeyi |last2=Matsakis |first2=Louise |last3=Haskins |first3=Caroline |date=April 2, 2025 |title=Cybersecurity Professor Faced China-Funding Inquiry Before Disappearing, Sources Say |url=https://www.wired.com/story/xiaofeng-wang-indiana-university-research-probe-china/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 6, 2025 |magazine=Wired}} Their attorney, Jason Covert. has confirmed that they are married and that the both of them are safe and not in custody{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Andrew |date=April 2, 2025 |title=IU professor and library analyst face no pending criminal charges, lawyers say |url=https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/04/iu-professor-no-criminal-charges-arrest-fbi-raid |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Indiana Daily Student}}

Career

Before March 2025, Nianli Ma served in the Library Technologies department at Indiana University Bloomington{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Jon |date=April 6, 2025 |title=Library Technologies |url=https://libraries.indiana.edu/library-technologies |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Libraries Indiana University Bloomington}}, where she probably worked on systems analysis or programming related to library services for the Herman B Wells Library. Few details are publicly available about her specific projects or contributions, especially after the removal of her profile from the university’s websites{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Andrew |date=March 29, 2025 |title=FBI searches two homes belonging to IU Luddy professor and library analyst while IUB starts scrubbing their profiles from their websites |url=https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/03/iu-professor-bloomington-carmel-fbi-search |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Indiana Daily Student}} in late March 2025.

Investigation by the FBI and Disaffiliation from the University

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on March 28, 2025, executed searches at two properties owned by Ma and Wang in Bloomington and Carmel, Ind. That same day, Indiana University fired Xiaofeng Wang, a controversial decision. Ma’s employment status with IU has not been officially identified, but the removal of her profile from IU’s website could also indicate she is no longer affiliated with the university{{Cite web |last=Rosenzweig |first=Brian |date=March 31, 2025 |title=Indiana University fired professor on the day of FBI raids, documents show |url=https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/education/campus/2025/03/31/iu-provost-rahul-shrivastav-terminated-xiaofeng-wang-day-of-fbi-search/82746685007/ |website=The Herald-Times}}. The motives for the searches and Xiaofeng Wang’s termination are not yet known, though the FBI confirmed the operations, and said that no information on the case was available. A motion to unseal the search warrants was filed, with a judge ordering a response by April 17, possibly providing insight into the investigation.{{Cite web |last=Pfefferkorn |first=Riana |date=April 1, 2025 |title=Motion to Unseal Search Warrants |url=https://interactive.wthr.com/pdfs/Stanford-Prof-Motion-on-Wang.pdf |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=wthr.com}}

Reactions from the Public

The university’s deletion of online profiles for Ma and Xiaofeng Wang stoked speculation in the academic community. Some argued while others criticize Indiana University for how it’s become a party in the matter over the Wang tenure rights. The university maintains that it is abiding by the F.B.I.'s request not to comment.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Andrew |date=March 31, 2025 |title=Faculty organization alleges IU violated policy in terminating Xiaofeng Wang |url=https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/03/xiaofeng-wang-aaup-iu-bloomington-policy |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Indiana Daily Student}}

Legal Status and Response

By April 2, 2025, a lawyer for the couple said that neither Nianli Ma nor Xiaofeng Wang had been arrested, that they were safe and that no criminal charges were pending against them. Ma and Xiaofeng stressed to their lawyer that they wanted to clear their names as the standoff continues.{{Cite web |last=Vicens |first=A. J. |date=April 2, 2025 |title=Cybersecurity professor targeted by FBI has not been detained, lawyer says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/indiana-university-cybersecurity-professor-has-not-been-arrested-or-detained-2025-04-02/ |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Reuters}} The case has been an issue of deep and continuing controversy, a mix of procedural wrangling, federal inquiry, and unanswered questions about the couple’s business and personal lives.

References

External links

[https://www.taftlaw.com/people/jason-m-covert/ Jason Covert] attorney for the Wangs