Aug 4 2020: Anthony Levandowski sentenced to 18 months in prison as new $4B lawsuit against Uber is filed

Back in August 4 2020: Anthony Levandowski sentenced to 18 months in prison as new $4B lawsuit against Uber is filed

Former Google employee and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing trade secrets relating to self-driving car technology. Levandowski had sought home confinement in lieu of prison time, however, US District Judge William Alsup felt that giving Levandowski home confinement would encourage other engineers to steal trade secrets.

Levandowski will also pay a $95,000 fine and $756,499.22 in restitution to Waymo. In a statement, Levandowski apologised to his former colleagues at Google and his family for "the price they have paid and will continue to pay for my actions".

Fast forward to May 16 2023: US charges ex-Apple engineer with stealing trade secrets, then fleeing to China

The US Department of Justice has charged a former Apple engineer with stealing trade secrets related to the company's autonomous vehicles project before fleeing to China.

Weibao Wang was hired by Apple in 2016 but in 2017 started a new job with a Chinese self-driving car company while still working for Apple. The DoJ said Wang had accessed "large quantities" of Apple data before his last day at the company.

What technologies has the US prevented from falling into the wrong hands?