Zhang Xiaolan (Xiaolang Zhang)

Biography

2018: Arrest on charges of stealing self-driving car technology from Apple

In July 2018, Xiaolang Zhang was arrested on charges of stealing trade secrets. A former Apple engineer is charged with trying to take data on the development of the company's self-driving cars to China.

According to The Washington Post, Xiaolang Zhang worked in the Apple department, which was engaged in the creation of self-propelled vehicles. After leaving the American company, Mr. Zhang downloaded confidential information, including engineering schemes and technical reports on Apple drones. Xiaopeng Motors, founded in Guangzhou, was to become a new place of work for the specialist.

Arrested Apple employee who stole data on the development of unmanned vehicles

In April 2017, Zhang took parental leave and traveled with his family to China. After returning, he informed the employer of his intentions to move to the PRC.

Apple's security service suspected something was wrong after the employee was fired. To verify the assumptions, Zhang's network activity was studied and it was found that the man transferred top-secret data to his laptop, which he had access to as a developer.

 On July 7, 2018, Zhang was detained, during interrogation by the FBI, he confessed that he had stolen data on the development technology of unmanned vehicles and intended to transfer them to Xiaopeng Motors.

A representative of the Chinese company said that the man did not give them secret Apple data and was fired immediately, as it became known about the incident.

According to the newspaper, the man faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if found guilty. 

Apple spokesman Tom Newmair wrote in an email to The Verge that the company is cooperating with authorities. He added that they are doing everything possible to bring all those responsible to justice.

Rumors about Apple's development of its own unmanned vehicle have appeared in the media several times, but they have not found official confirmation. According to Bloomberg, by July 2018, about 5 thousand of the corporation's 135 thousand employees are working on Apple's automotive technologies. About 2.7 thousand employees had access to databases about the project.^[1]

2022: Admitted stealing drawings for the company's self-driving car before moving to work with a Chinese manufacturer

A former Apple engineer has admitted stealing blueprints for the company's self-driving car before switching to work for a Chinese rival. This outcome in the case, which began back in 2018, became known in August 2022.

According to the US Department of Justice, Xiaolang Zhang was charged with stealing Apple trade secrets in July 2018. We are talking about a 25-page document with detailed drawings of a printed circuit board for an unmanned vehicle of an American corporation.

Former Apple engineer admits stealing drawings for the company's self-driving car before moving to work with a Chinese manufacturer

In April of that year, a 33-year-old employee notified Apple of his dismissal and intention to return to China to be closer to his sick mother. In this regard, Apple blocked Zhang's access to his computer systems and began an examination of the man's devices and his network activity.

It turned out that Zhang downloaded information from project databases that contains trade secrets and is the intellectual property of the company. Apple also learned that the man went to work with the Chinese manufacturer XPENG Motors, which specializes in electric vehicles and technologies for unmanned vehicles.

On July 7, 2018, an ex-Apple engineer was detained by FBI agents when he tried to fly to China from an international airport in San Jose. Zhang was later released on bail of $300,000, subject to GPS monitoring of his whereabouts.

The hearing, at which Zhang pleaded guilty, took place on August 22, 2022. The agreement is classified, but it is known from the published document that the sentencing is scheduled for November 14. According to Fortune, the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Techcrunch notes that XPENG Motors has distanced itself from the proceedings. On his page on the social network Weibo, the electric car manufacturer said that it had nothing to do with Zhang's case, did not know any details about him, did not participate in the US investigation and had no conflicts with Apple over this matter.^[2]

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