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The Courts Iphone Apple

Apple Sues Former Employee For Leaking Journal App, Vision Pro Details (macrumors.com) 47

Posted by BeauHD from the breach-of-confidentiality dept.
Apple has sued its former employee Andrew Aude for leaking information about more than a half-dozen Apple products and policies, including its then-unannounced Journal app and Vision Pro headset, product development policies, strategies for regulatory compliance, employee headcounts, and more. MacRumors reports: Aude joined Apple as an iOS software engineer in 2016, shortly after graduating college. He worked on optimizing battery performance, making him "privy to information regarding dozens of Apple's most sensitive projects," according to the complaint. In April 2023, for example, Apple alleges that Aude leaked a list of finalized features for the iPhone's Journal app to a journalist at The Wall Street Journal on a phone call. That same month, The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley published a report titled "Apple Plans iPhone Journaling App in Expansion of Health Initiatives."

Using the encrypted messaging app Signal, Aude is said to have sent "over 1,400" messages to the same journalist, who Aude referred to as "Homeboy." He is also accused of sending "over 10,000 text messages" to another journalist at the website The Information, and he allegedly traveled "across the continent" to meet with her. Other leaks relate to the Vision Pro and other hardware: "As another example, an October 2020 screenshot on Mr. Aude's Apple-issued work iPhone shows that he disclosed Apple's development of products within the spatial computing space to a non-Apple employee. Mr. Aude made this disclosure even though Apple's development efforts were confidential and not known to the public. Over the following months, Mr. Aude disclosed additional Apple confidential information -- including information concerning unannounced products, and hardware information."

Apple believes that Aude's actions were "extensive and purposeful," with Aude allegedly admitting that he leaked information so he could "kill" products and features with which he took issue. The company alleges that his wrongful disclosures resulted in at least five news articles discussing the company's confidential and proprietary information. Apple says these public revelations impeded its ability to "surprise and delight" with its latest products. Apple said it learned of Aude's wrongful disclosures in late 2023, and the company fired him for his alleged misconduct in December of that year. [...] Apple is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and it is also seeking other legal remedies. The full complaint can be read here (PDF).
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Apple Sues Former Employee For Leaking Journal App, Vision Pro Details More

Apple Sues Former Employee For Leaking Journal App, Vision Pro Details

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  • Private violation right there (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Senshi ( 10461927 ) on Friday March 29, 2024 @02:28AM (#64352934)
    "Using the encrypted messaging app Signal" Bet he was using iPhone, who to blame? Apple or Signal or both?

    • Yes, that is a very interesting question. This guy should be reasonably smart, aware and careful and yet Apple (?) managed to find out. How did this happen?

      • One old-school but still-effective method would've been to seed some different fake details to different people "in the know" inside of Apple. Whatever details got leaked would then point to the culprit.

      • Re:Private violation right there (Score:5, Insightful)

        by parityshrimp ( 6342140 ) on Friday March 29, 2024 @03:11AM (#64352964)

        This guy should be reasonably smart, aware and careful

        "Should" is a big word. From the summary,

        As another example, an October 2020 screenshot on Mr. Aude's Apple-issued work iPhone shows that he disclosed Apple's development of products within the spatial computing space to a non-Apple employee.

        Leaking information using a work-issued phone is neither smart nor aware nor careful.

      • I worked at a different tech company where we caught an intern leaking prototype photos because we somewhat discreetly places dots on the case that encoded the serial number. It was easy because we used a laser etch machine for the back of the device in production, so we flipped them over to do the front. The plastic turned from white to somewhat transparent under a laser. Making a kind of grey dot.
        We didn't sue him though. He was just released from the paid internship.

        • He was just released from the paid internship.

          So fired? :-)

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by EvilSS ( 557649 )
            Or dropped? Maybe it was an aerospace company.

          • Released from his internship isn't quite as bad as being fired. When HR is contacted by other companies as a reference, that's all they'll say on the matter. They won't provide details, or describe it as a termination.

            Think of it is like resigning, but without having a choice in the matter.

      • He was using an Apple issued company iPhone to send the messages. That is like wondering how a company finds out employees are visiting porn websites using company laptops.

        • That is not what the article says.

          • It says in the summary: "As another example, an October 2020 screenshot on Mr. Aude's Apple-issued work iPhone shows . . . "
            It says in the article: "The lawsuit alleges that over a five-year period, Aude used his Apple-issued work iPhone to leak information. . ."

            • But it doesn't say "only used his Apple issued iPhone".

              • And why is that even relevant? The article and summary says the evidence presented came from the company issued phone. That like saying if your security cameras catch your neighbors throwing their trash into your yard and they retort that you don’t have security footage from other neighborhood cameras of the same incident.

                • It doesn't say all evidence came from the company issued phone.

                  • The complaint by Apple ONLY deals with the evidence from his company phone. Maybe they might have more phones he used; but you missed the point. Evidence from his company phone should be enough to show he was the leaker; Apple does not need more.

                    • Where is the source for that?

                    • I take it you did not read Apple's complaint [scribd.com] that was linked in the article then? Apple only references his work phone. They do not mention any other phone.

                      What is your insistence that there must have been other phones? Is it so you can accuse Apple of somehow spying on him outside his work phone? The point you still miss is that with his work phone, they don't need any other proof.

    • Does Enterprise iPhone have remote surveillance built in?

      If not, only Apple and NSA knew about the backdoor in the iPhone GPU so that was available.

      But since this guy used his work iPhone anyway, he's not a strategic thinker.

    • Only if people do not understand that the point of apps like Signal is the messages are encrypted. Metadata like who is sending messages to whom can be discovered especially when a person is using a company phone to send messages. That is like saying my company is violating my privacy when they monitor which websites I visit on my work computer.

    • "who to blame? Apple or Signal or both?"

      The User, who saved screenshots of his exfiltration conversations on his employer-provided device.

    • None of the above.
      The plaintiff is to blame if he is guilty.

  • Getting in trouble for leaking Apple products... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday March 29, 2024 @03:29AM (#64352988)

    Talk about dying on the wrong hill.

    • Yeah, dumb ass just destroyed his career for absolutely no reason.

      This will show up in every background check for the rest of his life.

      Would you like fries with that?

  • No sympathy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Viol8 ( 599362 ) on Friday March 29, 2024 @05:27AM (#64353074) Homepage

    This isn't some morally driven whistleblower, its some kid with a beef about some things.

    "he leaked information so he could "kill" products and features with which he took issue"

    Who the hell does he think he is? If he has issues with the company or the products he knows where the door is but clearly he was quite happy to keep collecting a monthly salary so obviously he wasn't that bothered.

    Sounds like just another stupid narcissist kid on a power trip thinking he was The Man playing secret agent with a journalist and no doubt believing his opinion was far more important than everyone else who worked in his team.

    Oh well, Apple will clean him out and his career in IT and probably most white collar industries is basically over for now so hopefully he'll learn some lessons and grow up.

    • I, for one, am not on the side on the multi trillion dollar losing some secrets sueing when the reverse can never be true.
      Apple lost some money. Boohoo.
      • What do you mean the reverse can never be true? Employees sue companies all the time. If you're lucky enough to be called a racial slur you can get a payout greater than a lifetime of earnings.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      This isn't some morally driven whistleblower, its some kid with a beef about some things.

      "he leaked information so he could "kill" products and features with which he took issue"

      Who the hell does he think he is?

      Modern kids want to "make a difference", "make the world a better place", like their parents and teachers told them. And they were taught that they were always right

      A lot are so blabby about their likes and dislikes that it is difficult to employ them in places that deal with classified info.

  • Throw the book at him (Score:3, Insightful)

    by boulat ( 216724 ) on Friday March 29, 2024 @05:36AM (#64353084)

    Not only is his career in tech over, he is going to lose money on legal fees and in compensatory damages when he loses this case.

    All because he was thirsty for some attention.

    FOFO.

  • Does anyone actually use the journaling app?

    • I do.

      I have terminal cancer.

      I use the journalling app to capture thoughts and ideas that pop into my head that I want to include in the book I'm writing for my 8!year old child and letters of practical advice and other information I want to leave for my wife.

      I periodically review the journal entries and use the information in the above materials, when I am at my computer and can do so.

      • My Life Without Me, but then in real life. I lost my father to cancer when I was 10. I so wish he'd done what you are doing. I'm so sorry for you and your family for all the things that you won't be around for, and I wish you all the best, and your family too. Life's not fair, but anyhow, we all have to make the best of it. Hugs from an internet stranger.
  • I didn't realize that "surprise and delight" is a legal argument.

    So Apple, going straight to the heart of damages, what if any impact did these "unlawful disclosures" have on your sales? None. Thanks, Cased dismissed.

    Sorry Apple, you've fired your employee. Case is closed. What you are really after, are the stock options you gave Aude. You can't get those back without a court order. This is what the case is about. Moving on...

    • It's been more like "shock and awe" lately with Apple's current offerings.

      • I mean, let's be honest. Apple really made people swallow a poison pill with the most recent offerings esp with the Vision Pro.

        Continued Closed Garden development. You can't even import photos to your Apple Vision Pro from your iPhone unless you have iCloud. Forcing users to pay for Apple Specific cloud storage which has poor support anywhere outside of Apple's ecosystem.

        What happens if a user already uses DropBox or some competing cloud storage? What good reason does Apple have to prevent users from tra

  • This makes me curious how Apple got the evidence about Signal:

    If they took screenshots of the device via a MDM, that is Apple only functionality, because no iOS MDM allows for screenshots to be taken or screens recorded without showing the user that is taking place.

    Would there be an Apple-only way for them to SSH into the device and pull process data from Signal, including stored sessions?

    Is the Signal stuff backed up to iCloud unencrypted, or encrypted in a reversible manner via a managed account?

    Of course

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