Engineer Faces 10 Years for Hiding Insta360 Camera in Snacks to Steal Trade Secrets

Yeh Yen-wei, a senior engineer at Taiwan-based Nanya Technology, has been indicted by the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for allegedly using an Insta360 X4 Air camera concealed in a bag of snacks to steal trade secrets. The charges, filed under Taiwan's Trade Secrets Act, carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, along with a separate breach-of-trust charge under the Criminal Code. Yen-wei joined Nanya in 2022 and signed agreements prohibiting unauthorized recording or downloading of confidential information. In 2025, he allegedly contacted recruiters in China seeking a higher-paying job and planned to take Nanya's trade secrets to a new employer. He resigned in February 2026 but remained until mid-April, during which he entered restricted areas three times, hiding the Insta360 X4 Air—the company's lightest 8K 360° camera—in a snack bag to bypass security. Using his authorized credentials, he accessed virtual machines and photographed 32 images containing trade secrets related to DRAM technology and manufacturing processes. Nanya's IT security detected wireless signals from the camera in a restricted area, and investigators matched the device's location with Yen-wei's access records, leading to his identification. The case highlights the growing use of consumer technology in corporate espionage and the importance of digital security measures.