Monday, December 9, 2019

Apple Concerned Ex-Employees Accused of Theft of Trade Secrets Will Flee to China

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Apple today asked a federal court to continue monitoring two Chinese-born former employees accused of stealing trade secrets, citing "deep concerns" that the two could attempt to flee the country before their trials.

According to Reuters, prosecutors argued that Xiaolang Zhang and Jizhong Chen should have their locations monitored because they are flight risks.


Zhang was charged with theft of trade secrets back in July 2018 after he attempted to steal data on the car project that Apple has in the works. Prior to when he was caught, Zhang worked on Apple's compute team, designing and testing circuit boards to analyze sensor data in autonomous vehicles.

Zhang had "broad access to secure and confidential internal databases," and after announcing his plans to leave Apple for China-based XMotors, an investigation was launched due to suspicious behavior. Just ahead of leaving, Zhang accessed sensitive content that included prototypes, power requirements, low voltage requirements, battery systems, and more. Zhang was ultimately arrested at the airport in July 2018 attempting to leave for China.

In a separate incident, Apple caught Jizhong Chen, another Apple employee, taking photographs "in a sensitive workspace." After launching an investigation, Apple security officials found that Chen's personal computer contained "thousands" of Apple Car-related files, including manuals, schematics, photographs, and diagrams.

Chen had recently applied for a position with a China-based autonomous vehicle company and was arrested for theft of trade secrets one day before he was set to fly to China. Recently, it was also discovered that Chen had classified files from the Patriot missile program that belonged to Raytheon, his ex-employer.

Both men have been monitored electronically after being released on bail ahead of their trials, and they are now seeking to have that monitoring end. The lawyer for the men has said that they have not shown signs of violating pre-trial conditions thus far and did not actually share Apple's intellectual property with a third party.

The lawyer has also argued that each man was going to China to visit relatives, not to escape prosecution, and that both have strong ties to the United States. Chen and Zhang are both facing multi-year prison terms and hefty fines if convicted.


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Apple Store App Gains Redesigned Shop Tab

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Apple today updated its dedicated Apple Store app for purchasing Apple products, introducing a redesigned Shop tab.

According to Apple, the new tab features richer visuals, better personalization, and more relevant info for each individual shopper. Apple says that the new shopping experience is better tailored to "you and the devices you own."


An introductory splash screen for the update says that users can go from browsing to buying with a tap or dive into detailed product stories before adding something to the shopping bag.

There's also now an option to save passes for in-store pickups right in the Wallet app, which will make picking up items ordered online much easier when you arrive at your local Apple Store.

The Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Related Roundup: Apple Stores

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Apple Privacy Director Jane Horvath to Speak at CES in Consumer Privacy Roundtable

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Apple will have a presence at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that's set to take place in January, but the company won't be showing off new products.

Apple will instead be discussing consumer privacy, as Bloomberg points out. Jane Horvath, Apple's senior director of privacy, will be attending a "Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable" alongside privacy executives from Facebook, Procter & Gamble, and the FTC.


The roundtable will focus on "what consumers want" when it comes to privacy. It will be held on Tuesday, January 7 at 1:00 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center's North Hall, room N257. Attendance is included with CES registration.
Privacy is now a strategic imperative for all consumer businesses. "The future is private" (Facebook); "Privacy is a human right" (Apple); and "a more private web" (Google). How do companies build privacy at scale? Will regulation be a fragmented patchwork? Most importantly, what do consumers want?
Apple stopped attending CES in the 90s, and Apple's last official appearance took place in 1992 at the Chicago show, where then CEO John Sculley introduced the Apple Newton.


While Apple doesn't officially attend CES, it does send its employees to the show for meetings and to check out emerging technology. Last year, Apple also touted its privacy policies through a huge privacy-focused billboard right near the Las Vegas Convention Center that read "What Happens on your iPhone, stays on your ‌iPhone‌."

Tag: CES

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