Former Apple Employee Stole Trade Secrets Related to Self-Driving Cars

Corporate espionage is nothing new, but the amount of it generated by self-driving cars is drastic. Just a few weeks ago, Tesla sued an employee for disclosing trade secrets to unknown parties. Now, federal agents have charge Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple employee, with stealing trade secrets from Apple. Zhang is accused of stealing technical documents and hardware from Apple.

Zhang’s Attempted Flight

Zhang had been working for Apple since 2015, specializing in self-driving cars. His specialty was circuit boards that analyzed sensor data, according to the FBI. However, in April, Zhang told his department head that he was quitting to move to China to be close to his mother. The supervisor found Zhang’s explanation flimsy, and his demeanor suspicious. As such, an investigation was launched: Zhang’s recent download of tons of confidential technical documents came to light. Zhang had stored the technical documents on his wife’s laptop, and then stole a few circuit boards and a server from Apple.

Federal authorities apprehended Zhang at the San Jose airport on June 7^th. He had just purchased a ticket to China. His federal charges mean he can’t leave the country, thus stopping his attempted espionage in its tracks. It’s quite likely that this information breach would have led to a significant breakthrough for a Chinese company if Zhang’s flight had been successful.

Why Is There So Much Espionage Around Self-Driving Cars?

While self-driving cars haven’t make too big of a splash at mass-market yet, they’re set to do so in the very near future. In the next few years, we’ll likely see more advanced self-driving technology become widely available. However, the technology is complex and difficult to program and implement. As such, any company that manages to be first to market with it will reap tremendous benefits.

Less scrupulous companies seem convinced that their best way to do this will be to steal trade secrets and rush a project to completion. Thankfully, in this instance, the espionage was stopped before the damage was done. It is currently unclear what company Zhang was stealing the information for.