Apple has sent a letter to its employees in a warning to them about “leaking information.”
According to an Apple internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, Apple warned its employees that “29 of the employees who leaked information last year were caught and 12 of them were arrested.” The letter was reportedly posted on Apple’s internal message board.
Apple addressed in the letter that, “(Information) leakers are not just losing their jobs; in some cases, some went to jail, been fined heavily for network violation crimes, or punished by federal law for leaking trade secrets.”
Apple did not release the list of the employees who were arrested or their charges. The leak information reportedly included Apple employees and contractors, or partner employees at the supply chain.
CNN Money reported that the employee who leaked the latest version of the unofficial iPhone operating system (iOS) was fired after a few days of being caught. Moreover, the employees who gave details of the iPhone X (ten), iPad Pro, Airpods, etc, to 9to5mac reporters were also caught.
Apple said, “The employee who leaked the information told the media that he thought he was not going to be caught by the investigation team. Also, those who leaked information, whether by Apple employees or contractors, were caught much faster than expected.”
Apple’s global security team is known to mobilize digital forensics (scientific investigation) techniques to find leaking information. Apple is also strengthening its investment in this field. However, some IT media criticized Apple’s response by saying, “The way Apple responds to leakage of its information is too excessive.”
