A former Apple employee has been charged with stealing autonomous vehicle trade secrets.
This month, former employee Xiaolang Zhang, who worked on circuit board sensor data testing and design, is in serious trouble for downloading a self-driving circuit board plan to his personal laptop before attempting to flee the country to China, arrested at San Jose Airport before being questioned by the FBI.
An Apple spokesperson issued a statement.
"Apple takes confidentiality and the protection of our intellectual property very seriously. We're working with authorities on this matter and will do everything possible to make sure this individual and any other individuals involved are held accountable for their actions."
Initial red flags were raised by his immediate supervisor, who called Apple's New Product Security Team to investigate after Zhang announced his intention to join a China-based self-driving startup named XMotors.
The investigation revealed the theft of circuit boards and a computer service, along with other digital material such as technical manuals.
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