Ex-Apple Employee, Who Stole Project Titan Secrets, Jailed For 4 Months: Report

Six years after US authorities charged Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer, with stealing trade secrets of the company's Project Titan, a California judge sentenced him to 120 days in jail.

Mr Zhang, accused of stealing a blueprint related to Apple's self-driving car project, has been sentenced to 120 days in prison followed by three years of supervised release, reported 9to5 Mac.

The former Apple employee has also been ordered to pay the tech giant $146,984.00 as restitution, the report added.  

Mr Zhang downloaded a 25-page document related to Project Titan to his personal laptop before trying to flee to China, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

When charged in 2018, Mr Zhang denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. However, in August 2022, he pleaded guilty. The federal prosecutors in California demanded the judge sentence him to at least a year in prison.

What happened in 2018

Xiaolang Zhang was hired as a software and hardware developer for Apple's Project Titan, a self-driving car project. He designed and tested circuit boards to analyse sensor data.

In April 2018, Mr Zhang, following the birth of a child, on paternity leave from the company, travelled with his family to China, according to the complaint filed in a California court.

After returning from his leave, Mr Zhang informed his supervisor that he planned to resign and move back to China. There, he planned to join Xiaopeng Motors, an intelligent electric vehicle company, the complaint said.

According to the 9to5mac report, around the time of his exit, Apple noticed evasive behaviour on the part of Mr Zhang, prompting an investigation. The probe led to the discovery of Mr Zhang having run extensive searches of secret databases. Not just that, he also visited Apple's campus on April 28 when he was supposed to be on paternity leave, according to the complaint.