LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A recent federal indictment regarding theft of software from Apple for a foreign country demonstrates a heightened need for countermeasures against foreign espionage. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that former Apple Incorporated employee, Weibao Wang, was indicted after half a dozen charges which included “attempted theft of trade secrets in connection with a scheme to access, download, and steal Apple technology related to autonomous systems.” 

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“Innovation is alive and well in Silicon Valley—indeed, throughout the Northern District of California,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in a statement.  “Unfortunately, there will always be some who cheat the system by stealing and profiting from the fruits of others’ labor. The Wang prosecution is but one example. We are pleased that the Disruptive Technology Task Force renews energy and focus on securing innovation for those who actually create it.”

The indictment reported that just more than two and half years after Wang was granted access to numerous sensitive materials with Apple, he then signed a letter accepting an offer for full-time employment as a Staff Engineer with the U.S.-based subsidiary of a company headquartered in the People’s Republic of China. 

“After Wang’s last day at Apple on April 16, 2018, Apple representatives reviewed access logs documenting historical activity on Apple’s network,” according to the DOJ, “Apple identified Wang as having accessed large amounts of sensitive proprietary and confidential information in the days leading up to his departure from Apple.” 

In Michigan, there have been concerns raised about future projects between Ford and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), as it strives to make the Blue Oval EV Battery Power Plant a reality in Marshall. 

“The plant is going to be fully owned by a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, so this will be an American investment made in Michigan,” Christ Smith, Chief Government Operations Officer for Ford Motor Company testified. “There aren’t going to be any foreign partners, our relationship with CATL will be as a technical service provider.  They are going to be providing technical services for the project; the project is going to be owned, operated, and run by a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company making batteries that are going to be installed in Ford vehicles.”  

Similarly, besides domestic environmental concerns, some have expressed fears regarding security risks associated with the project and foreign entities like China, including Senator John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs), who was one of the votes against giving money to the Gotion Project in a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting. 

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“My biggest concern is the Chinese ownership of the company, and the bottom line is I’m not the type of guy that says no to everything, I am not always playing partisan politics, I voted yes for the Ford plant for instance,” he said. 

In the latest letter from the China Economic and Security Review Group, headed in part by former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Cella, the group calls for the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Matthew Olsen, to enforce the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). 

“The Gotion filing is incomplete, not transparent, inaccurate and insufficient,” the letter to Olson said, “It is incomplete and not transparent in that it does not disclose all of the meetings that have occurred since 2021; it is inaccurate in that it does not correctly list the parent of Gotion as Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Company, Ltd.; and it is insufficient, as there are many other people operating as unregistered foreign agents, including Gotion executive, Chuck Thelen.” 

Inquiries for transparency continue after a possible link between the project and the Middle East came under scrutiny after a company called “Gochin” expressed interest in investing $10 billion to mine Afganistan’s lithium reserves in mid April; though Gotion Vice President President of North American Operations, Chuck Thelen denied any connection. 

“Two totally different companies,” he said to Michigan News Source, “We are not affiliated whatsoever. We don’t need their lithium, frankly, we have plenty.”

According to AppleInsider, Weibao Wang was the third person to face charges regarding Apple Car Project Technology, including Jizhong Chen in 2019, and Xiaolang Zhang in 2018.