Ex-Apple Engineer Among U.S. Tech Theft Cases

"WASHINGTON -- A former Apple engineer has been charged with trying to steal the company's self-driving-car technology, U.S. authorities said, one of a series of actions aimed at dismantling what they say are illicit networks providing Russia and China with access to trade secrets and restricted items such as aircraft parts and battlefield equipment.

Weibao Wang, 35 years old, a software engineer at Apple from 2016 to 2018, was charged with six counts of theft or attempted theft of the company's "entire autonomy source code," tracking systems, architecture designs and descriptions of hardware behind the technology, the Justice Department said in an indictment Tuesday.

About a year into his employment at Apple, Mr. Wang began working for a U.S.-based subsidiary of a Chinese company that was also developing autonomous-driving technology and began taking "large amounts" of sensitive information related to Apple's project, the indictment says. Investigators who searched his Mountain View, Calif., home found Apple's proprietary and confidential materials on Mr. Wang's computers and other devices.

Court records don't list an attorney for Mr. Wang, who prosecutors said flew from San Francisco to China hours after the June 2018 search and remains there. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

The charges against Mr. Wang were announced as part of a series of arrests and indictments secured by federal prosecutors in California, Arizona and New York. Officials said the actions stemmed from a task force convened in February between the Justice Department and the Commerce Department, which is focused on policing regulations restricting the export of sensitive technologies to foreign adversaries.

"Foreign nation-states are working hard to acquire our most sensitive technologies," said Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department. "We're working even harder to stop them."

In another action announced Tuesday, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn said French authorities had arrested Nikolaos "Nikos" Bogonikolos, a Greek national who operated companies in Greece and the Netherlands and allegedly helped supply Russia with battlefield equipment and advanced electronics used for quantum cryptography and nuclear-weapons testing. The U.S. will seek his extradition, he said.

The U.S. attorney in Arizona also announced the arrests of Oleg Patsulya and Vasilii Besedin, two Russian citizens who lived near Miami and who authorities said were involved in a scheme to circumvent U.S. export controls by supplying aircraft parts to Russian airlines.

Lawyers for Messrs. Patsulya and Besedin didn't respond to requests to comment. Court records don't list a lawyer for Mr. Bogonikolos.

In a complaint filed Friday, prosecutors said Messrs. Patsulya and Besedin supplied a Boeing 737 carbon disc-brake system and other parts to at least three different Russian airlines. Two of the airlines fell under export restrictions announced by the Commerce Department last year, they said. FBI agents last week conducted a raid of a condominium in the Trump Towers in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., which was owned by a company controlled by the two men.

The U.S. has said it is stepping up enforcement of the sanctions and exports controls on Russia since its events in Ukraine last year." [1]

Apple's self-driving car technology still can't drive any cars. Who needs technology that doesn't work? China clearly mishandles money for espionage.

1. U.S. News: Ex-Apple Engineer Among U.S. Tech Theft Cases. Gurman, Sadie;
Tokar, Dylan. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 May 2023: A.6.

Darbuotojų sugrįžimo į biurus tendencija sustojo

„Kai vidutinis miesto biurų užimtumas metų pradžioje per pandemiją pirmą kartą viršijo 50 proc., daugelis savininkų vertino šį etapą, kaip ženklą, kad darbuotojai pagaliau atnaujina savo ankstesnius darbo įpročius.

 

     Šie biuro naudojimo rodikliai daugiau nepakito, nes dauguma įmonių įsitvirtino prie mišrios darbo strategijos, kuri nerodo jokių blėsimo ženklų.

 

     Pasak programinės įrangos įmonės „Scoop Technologies“, kuri sukūrė beveik 4500 įmonių darbo vietų stebėjimo strategijas, apie 58 % įmonių leidžia darbuotojams dalį savaitės dirbti namuose. Įmonių, kurios reikalauja, kad darbuotojai biure dirbtų visą darbo dieną, skaičius iš tikrųjų sumažėjo iki 42%, palyginti su 49% prieš tris mėnesius, sakė Scoop. Mišrias strategijas taikančių įmonių darbuotojai biure dirba vidutiniškai 2,5 dienos per savaitę. Kol nedarbo lygis išlieka žemas, darbuotojai turi svertų įtvirtinti šią politiką, sakė Robertas Sadowas, Scoop vadovas ir vienas iš įkūrėjų.

 

     „Darbuotojai sako, kad mes tikrai labai stengsimės, kad nereikėtų būti biure penkias dienas per savaitę“, – sakė J. Sadow. „Dauguma įmonių dabartinėje darbo rinkoje nenorėjo taip stipriai stumti [atgal]."

 

     Didėja nusivylimas miestuose, kurie kenčia nuo mažėjančios nekilnojamojo turto vertės, sudaro sąlygas mažesnėms nekilnojamojo turto mokesčių pajamoms ir daro spaudimą barams, restoranams ir kitoms mažoms įmonėms, kurios priklauso nuo penkias dienas per savaitę dirbančių biurų darbuotojų. Niujorke kiekvienas darbuotojas, dirbantis namuose, o ne eidamas į biurą, miesto įmonėms kasmet kainuoja apie 4600 dolerių, teigia WFH Research, darbo vietos tvarką stebinti ekspertų grupė.

 

     Kai kurie miesto pareigūnai eksperimentuoja su nauja politika, siekdami suvilioti darbuotojus. Niujorko meras Ericas Adamsas praėjusią savaitę paskelbė apie mokesčių lengvatas biurų pastatų savininkams atnaujinti iki 2000 m. pastatytus pastatus, tikėdamasis, kad šiuolaikiškesnė darbo vieta padidins užimtumą.

 

     Kadangi darbuotojai biure praleidžia tik pusę penkių darbo dienų savaitės, nenuostabu, kad grąžinimo į biurą rodikliai sumažėjo maždaug per pusę priešpandeminio lygio. „Kastle Systems“ duomenimis, vidutinis biuro naudojimo lygis, sausio pabaigoje viršijęs 50 % priešpandeminio lygio, nuo tada išliko toks pat. Kastle seka grįžimą į biurą 10 pagrindinių JAV rinkų, stebėdama saugos ženklelių perbraukimus.

 

     Kitos įmonės, naudojančios skirtingus biuro naudojimosi stebėjimo metodus, rodo šiek tiek didesnį grąžos rodiklį, tačiau jos pastebi, kad lankomumas sumažėjo. Placer.ai, sekanti mobiliųjų telefonų duomenis, nurodė, kad biurų apsilankymų skaičius 11 miestų balandžio pabaigoje buvo šiek tiek daugiau, nei 60 %, palyginti su 2019 m., palyginti su vasario pradžioje. „Atrodo, kad toks laikymosi modelis rodo sustojusį atsigavimą“, – teigiama Placer.ai balandžio mėnesio ataskaitoje.

 

     Teksaso miestuose ir toliau yra didžiausias grįžimo į biurą rodiklis, iš dalies dėl to, kad daugelis valstijos įmonių yra tarp tų, kuriems reikia darbuotojų biure penkias dienas per savaitę. Anot Kastle, pirmąją gegužės savaitę grąžinimo rodikliai Ostine ir Hiustone viršijo 60%.

 

     Dauguma Hiustone įsikūrusios advokatų kontoros „McCulloch & Miller“ darbuotojų nuo 2020 m. pabaigos grįžta į biurą penkias dienas per savaitę, sakė vadovaujantis partneris Davidas Milleris. Vis dėlto, jo teigimu, įmonė yra lankstesnė, nei prieš pandemiją, leisdama darbuotojams atvykti vėlai, anksti išvykti ir, jei reikia, dirbti iš namų.

 

     Technologijų įmonės tebėra labiausiai linkusios leisti darbuotojams dirbti iš namų, todėl tokiuose miestuose, kaip San Franciskas, Sietlas ir San Chosė, Kalifornijoje, yra žemas sugrįžimo į biurą procentas. Šį pavasarį „Salesforce“ atidarė savo naują bokštą Čikagoje, tačiau naujienos buvo pritildytos pagal bendrovės planus subnuomoti iki 125 000 kvadratinių pėdų ploto 58 aukštų pastate.

 

     Biurų savininkus šiais metais paskatino ženklai, kad technologijų sektorius pagaliau kviečia kai kuriuos savo darbuotojus į biurus. Pavyzdžiui, net ir teikdama erdvę subnuomos rinkai, „Salesforce“ šių metų pradžioje įgyvendino planą sugrąžinti darbuotojus į biurus net keturias dienas per savaitę.

 

     „Meta Platforms“ ir toliau leido darbuotojams dirbti iš namų tiek, kiek jie nori. Tačiau „Facebook“ savininkas šį pavasarį vadovams liepė laikinai nustoti samdyti nuotolinius darbuotojus, o tai daugelis suprato, kaip užuominą, kad netrukus gali prireikti kai kurių darbuotojų grįžimo į biurą.

 

     Tačiau, finansines paslaugas teikiančios, įmonės vis dažniau taiko mišrią darbo vietų politiką po to, kai pirmavo prašydamos darbuotojų grįžti visą darbo dieną. Šiuo metu 20 % finansinių paslaugų įmonių reikalauja, kad darbuotojai būtų biure penkias dienas per savaitę, palyginti su 22 % prieš tris mėnesius, teigia Scoop." [1]

Mažiau darbui skirtų biurų leidžia daug sutaupyti darbdaviams. Maistas miestų centruose ir taip nebuvo geras. Kam rūpi tos maitinimo įstaigos...

 

1. Trend of Employees Returning To Offices Is Stalled. Grant, Peter. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 May 2023: A.1.

Trend of Employees Returning To Offices Is Stalled.

"When average city office-occupancy rates at the start of the year surpassed 50% for the first time during the pandemic, many landlords viewed this milestone as a sign that employees were finally resuming their former work habits.

Those office-usage rates barely budged as most companies settled into a hybrid work strategy that shows little sign of fading.

About 58% of companies allow employees to work a portion of their week from home, according to Scoop Technologies, a software firm that developed an index monitoring workplace strategies of close to 4,500 companies. The number of companies that require employees to be in the office full time has actually declined to 42%, from 49% three months ago, Scoop said. Employees at companies with hybrid strategies work an average of 2.5 days a week in the office. As long as unemployment remains low, workers have the leverage to entrench these policies, said Robert Sadow, Scoop's chief executive and co-founder.

"Employees are saying we are going to push really, really hard against being required to be in the office five days a week," Mr. Sadow said. "Most companies in the current labor market have been reluctant to push [back] that hard."

Frustration is growing in cities that are suffering from declining real-estate values, setting the stage for lower property-tax revenue and pressuring bars, restaurants and other small businesses that rely on five-day-a-week office workers. In New York, each employee working at home rather than going into the office costs city businesses about $4,600 in sales annually,according to WFH Research, a think tank that tracks workplace arrangements.

Some city officials are experimenting with new policies in an effort to lure back workers. New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week announced tax incentives for office-building owners to upgrade buildings constructed before 2000, hoping that a more modern workplace would boost occupancy.

With employees spending only half the five-day workweek in the office, it isn't surprising that office-return rates stalled out around half of prepandemic levels. The average office usage rate, which crossed 50% of prepandemic levels in late January, remained around there ever since, according to Kastle Systems. Kastle tracks the return-to-office in 10 major U.S. markets by monitoring security-badge swipes.

Other companies using different methods to track office usage show a slightly higher return rate, but they are finding that attendance has leveled off. Placer.ai, which tracks mobile-phone data, said office visitations in 11 cities as of late April were just over 60% of what they were in 2019, little changed from early February. "This holding pattern seems to indicate a stalled recovery," Placer.ai said in an April report.

In Texas, cities continue to have the highest return to office rate, in part because many businesses in the state are among those requiring workers in the office five days a week. In the first week of May, the return rates for Austin and Houston both topped 60%, according to Kastle.

Most employees of Houston-based law firm McCulloch & Miller have been back in the office five days a week since late 2020, said managing partner David Miller. Still, he said, the firm is more flexible than before the pandemic in terms of letting workers arrive late, leave early and work from home if necessary.

Technology firms remain the most permissive for letting employees work from home, resulting in low return-to-office rates in cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose, Calif. Salesforce opened this spring its new tower in Chicago but the news was muted by the company's plans to make up to 125,000 square feet of sublease space available in the 58-story building.

Office landlords have been encouraged this year by signs that the tech sector is finally calling some of its workers back to offices. For example, even while it has been putting space on the sublease market, Salesforce earlier this year implemented a plan to return workers to offices as many as four days a week.

Meta Platforms has continued to allow employees to work from home as much as they want. But the Facebook owner told managers this spring to stop hiring all-remote workers temporarily, which many interpreted as a hint that it might soon require some workers back in the office.

Yet financial-services companies are increasingly adopting hybrid workplace policies after leading the way in asking employees to come back full time. Currently 20% of financial-services firms require workers to be in the office five days a week, compared with 22% three months ago, according to Scoop." [1]

Less work in the offices leads to big savings for the employers. Food in the centers of the cities was no good anyway. Who cares about those food establishments...

1. Trend of Employees Returning To Offices Is Stalled. Grant, Peter. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 May 2023: A.1.