Chinese man Jizhong Chen ‘stole Apple’s future-car secrets for company in China’
- Jizhong Chen was reportedly seen by a fellow Apple employee taking photographs inside a secure work space on January 11
- Chen said the pictures were to support applications within the company, but Apple says he was seeking employment with a Chinese rival
A Chinese Apple hardware engineer who allegedly stole the iPhone maker’s driverless car secrets for a China-based company has been charged by the US in the second such case since July.
Jizhong Chen was seen by a fellow Apple employee taking photographs on January 11 with a wide-angle lens inside a secure work space that houses the company’s autonomous car project, about six months after he signed a strict confidentiality oath when he was hired, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, California.
Prosecutors said Chen admitted to taking the photos and backing up some 2,000 files to his personal hard drive, including manuals and schematics for the project, but didn’t tell Apple he had applied for a job with a China-based autonomous vehicle company.
The arrest comes amid an unprecedented crackdown by the US on Chinese corporate espionage.
As US President Donald Trump ratcheted up his trade war with China, the Justice Department in November announced a “China Initiative” aimed at prioritising trade-theft cases and litigating them as quickly as possible.
