A former Apple engineer accused of stealing computer files containing trade secrets from Apple’s automotive division and caught trying to flee the country to communist China pleaded guilty to charges in federal court this week.
Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer, pleaded guilty to charges in San Jose federal court Monday for stealing computer files containing trade secrets from Apple’s classified automotive division, CNBC reported. Zhang was arrested in San Jose while trying to flee the country for China.
Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a silly selfie (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
According to a recent lawsuit, Zhang’s plea agreement is currently under seal. Zhang faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to stealing trade secrets. Zhang’s sentence is scheduled for November.
Zhang is accused of uploading internal Apple files related to the company’s automotive project, including a 25-page document containing circuit board engineering schematics for an unmanned vehicle. Zhang was accused of copying help guides and PDFs describing Apple’s prototypes and prototype requirements.
Zhang was arrested by federal agents at the San Jose airport in July 2018. Zhang is said to be planning to fly to China. Zhang has previously worked at Apple since 2015, most recently as a hardware engineer on Apple’s autonomous vehicle team.
Apple reportedly uses internal software to track which employees have been assigned individual projects, and they are all required to attend confidential courses related to sensitive projects, such as Apple’s automotive division.
Working in the Autonomous Vehicle Computing Team, Zhang designed and tested circuit boards for the sensors. Apple suspected that Zhang might have stolen trade secrets after he took parental leave and traveled to China. After returning to work, she submitted her resignation, saying she wanted to return to China to take care of her mother.
He told Apple that he planned to work at Xmotors, China’s leading electric vehicle company, and that access to Apple’s network was immediately shut down. Apple’s investigation revealed that Zhang downloaded documents and information from the company’s databases. Apple’s CCTV cameras also caught Zhang entering the lab and removing equipment that was later identified as circuit boards and a Linux server.
Read more about CNBC here.
Source: Breitbart
