An engineer is facing 10 years in prison for using an Insta360 X4 Air camera hidden in a bag of snacks to steal trade secrets and pass them on to his next employer.

Engineer Yeh Yen-wei has been charged in Taiwan for secretly filming confidential company information with a concealed Insta360 X4 Air — the company’s lightest-ever 8K 360° camera — in an attempt to secure a high-paying job in China.

Yen-wei reportedly started working as a senior engineer at Taiwan-based Nanya Technology in 2022, according to Tom’s Hardware , which cited Taiwanese media reports. However, he allegedly began contacting recruiters in China in 2025 about potential jobs and planned to take Nanya Technology’s trade secrets to a new employer in return for a higher salary.

He resigned in February 2026 but remained at the company until mid-April. During that period, he allegedly entered restricted office areas on three occasions, hiding an Insta360 X4 Air camera in a bag of snacks to get it through security.

Once inside, Yeh used his authorized company credentials to access Nanya’s virtual machines and view internal research and development documents. He used the Insta360 camera to photograph and record information related to Nanya’s DRAM technology and manufacturing processes. Prosecutors allege that he took 32 photographs containing trade secrets and left the company without deleting the images he had downloaded.

But Yeh’s actions allegedly left a digital trail. Nanya’s IT security team detected wireless signals coming from a device inside a restricted area of the facility. Investigators determined that the signal was coming from the Insta360 X4 Air camera. They then matched the Insta360 camera’s location and activity with Yeh’s employee access records and other security logs, which led them to identify him as the person using the device. Nanya reported the suspected theft to Taiwanese authorities, who later indicted Yeh.

When Yen-wei joined Nanya in 2022, he signed agreements prohibiting him from recording or downloading confidential company information without authorization. Taiwan’s New Taipei District Prosecutors Office has charged him under the Trade Secrets Act with illegally copying trade secrets for intended use in China, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The engineer also faces a separate breach-of-trust charge under Taiwan’s Criminal Code.

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