Space Industry and Business News  
CAR TECH
US prosecutors confirm Uber target of criminal probe
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Dec 14, 2017


A letter made public Wednesday in Waymo's civil suit against Uber over swiped self-driving car secrets confirmed the ride-share service is the target of a US criminal investigation.

The US Attorney's Office in Northern California sent the letter to US Judge William Alsup last month to share some of what they have learned "in the course of a United States' pending criminal investigation," according to a copy of the paperwork obtained by AFP.

Alsup had referred the case to the Justice Department to look into possible criminal charges, but prosecutors remained mum after that.

Information shared by the department with Alsup sparked a courtroom furor over the possibility that Uber operated a program to hide nefarious tactics.

It also resulted in the trial being delayed a second time, with the judge setting a new start date of February 5.

The US Attorney's Office said in the missive to Alsup that they interviewed former Uber manager of global intelligence Richard Jacobs, who contended that "employees routinely used non-attributable electronic devices to store and transmit information that they wished to separate from Uber's official systems."

Attorneys representing Uber have repeatedly assured the judge no files taken from Waymo ever touched Uber servers.

Jacobs' attorney laid out his allegations in May in a letter to Uber's associate general counsel, according to the Justice document.

Alsup continues to mull whether it should have been shared during an evidence-gathering phase of the civil case.

The letter signed by Jacobs told of an effort to evade discovery requests, court orders, and government investigations "in violation of state and federal law, as well as ethical rules governing the legal profession."

Techniques used included smartphones or laptop computers that couldn't be traced back to the company, and communicating through encrypted, vanishing message service Wickr, according to the letter and a transcript of courtroom testimony obtained by AFP.

Jacobs testified that he left Uber early this year with a compensation deal valued at $4.5 million.

As part of that agreement with Uber, Jacobs remained a consultant on the payroll.

Uber executives who testified denied any wrongdoing or trail-covering.

The civil case stems from a lawsuit filed by Waymo -- previously known as the Google self-driving car unit -- which claimed former manager Anthony Levandowski took technical data with him when he left to launch a competing venture that went on to become Otto and was later acquired by Uber.

Uber is also a target of investigations and lawsuits over the cover-up of a hack that compromised personal information of 57 million users and drivers.

Uber purportedly paid data thieves $100,000 to destroy the swiped information -- and remained quiet about the breach for a year.

US justice officials are also investigating suspicions of foreign bribery and use of illegal software to spy on competitors or escape scrutiny of regulators.

CAR TECH
Volkswagen boss urges end to diesel tax breaks
Berlin (AFP) Dec 11, 2017
The head of the world's biggest automaker Volkswagen has issued an unprecedented call to end tax breaks for diesel fuel in Germany, saying the technology must make way for cleaner ways of getting around. "I'm convinced that we need to question the sense and purpose of these diesel subsidies," Mueller told business daily Handelsblatt Sunday. "We could more usefully invest the money in env ... read more

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

CAR TECH
Better mastery of heat flow leads to next-generation thermal cloaks

Nature's toughest substances decoded

Penn researchers establish universal signature fundamental to how glassy materials fail

In first, 3-D printed objects connect to WiFi without electronics

CAR TECH
Military defense market faces new challenges to acquiring SatCom platforms

Harris contracted by Army for radios for security force assistance brigades

Joint Hellas-Sat-4 and SaudiGeoSat-1 satellite ready for environmental tests

Government outsourcing disrupts space as SatComm services commercialised

CAR TECH
CAR TECH
Arianespace's second Ariane 5 launch for the Galileo constellation and Europe

Galileo satellites atop rocket for next Tuesday's flight

Air Force tests Raytheon's GPS receiver aboard B-2 bomber

Space technology to drive autonomous ships

CAR TECH
Israel says F-35 stealth fighter jets operational

Qatar, France sign billion-dollar fighter jet deal amid Gulf crisis

Boeing's new KC-46A tanker completes first flight

General Dynamics to support training software, hardware for Air Force

CAR TECH
Toshiba, Western Digital settle legal battle over chip unit sale

Researchers quantify factors for reducing power semiconductor resistance by two-thirds

Secure information transmission over 500m fiber links based on quantum technologies

Squeezing light into a tiny channel brings optical computing a step closer

CAR TECH
Lockheed Martin strengthens weather forecasting with second next-generation weather satellite

Understanding the climate impact of natural atmospheric particles

Sentinel-5P brings air pollution into focus

First global maps of traits that drive vegetation growth

CAR TECH
Offsetting Trump, Macron moves to 'Make Our Planet Great Again'

Tiny ocean creatures can shred a plastic bag into 1.75 million pieces

Smog should stop play, Indian doctors tell cricket bosses

World's nations adopt plan 'towards a pollution-free planet'









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.