Many have already become accustomed to that almost every day there are rumors about not yet released Apple devices. Sometimes they are very strange (such as contact lenses with augmented reality in 2030), but often leaks are plausible, and subsequently, Apple really shows such a device. But did you think about such information falls in the media? In fact, there are several leakage channels, from employees of factories in Chinese factories to Apple administrative staff. There are even rumors that Apple itself authorizes some leaks to "warm up interest in new devices." But judging by the fact that the company intends to sue his former employee for the dissemination of secret information, it is not.
Apple wants to sue a former employee
Today, Apple filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former Apple employee who allegedly used its position in the company to theft of "confidential commercial information". Stolen information was then transferred to journalists and published in hearing articles on new devices or Apple plans.Lancaster worked in Apple for more than ten years, using his experience in the company to attend secret internal meetings and access to documents, which, according to Apple, "went beyond his official duties." The details obtained were published in the media articles where the source from Apple was quoted. In exchange for the information provided, Lancaster either took money from journalists, or improved exchange: for example, asked the representative of the media with whom he contacted, to write about the startup, which invested.
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Until November 1, 2019, Lancaster worked as a leading specialist in materials and designer, he participated in several Apple projects. Its role was to evaluate the materials and the creation of prototypes for future devices. On November 29, 2018, he began to transfer media information through text messages, emails and phone calls.
Having left Apple, Lancaster continued to merge information to the media correspondents with whom he spoke. Apple studied the devices that Lancaster returned after work, and found out that he said "certain commercial secrets of Apple." On his last day, Lancaster has downloaded a "significant number" of Confidential Apple documents to the external drive, the lawsuits are said.
The correspondent repeatedly asked Lancaster download certain documents and get information about the commercial secret of Apple. Several times the employee sent requested confidential materials using Apple-owned devices by mail. In other cases, Lancaster personally met with a correspondent to merge information.
According to Apple, the information that Lancaster shared, included the details of the unscredited hardware Apple products, new features that have not yet been announced, as well as future presentations of devices. The company does not specify which devices in the network due to its former employee, but many of the leaks occurred in approximately October and November 2019 and relate to the fact that Apple calls the "project X". It is not clear what is meant by this project: maybe apple car? Or iPhone SE 2, which started to merge into the network at the end of 2019?
Like all Apple employees, Lancaster signed the "Privacy Policy Agreement and Intellectual Property Protection" before Apple hired, which prohibits him to disclose secret and official information. He also visited safety training devoted to the prevention of theft of secret documents. Therefore, Apple requires compensation for damage caused by theft of commercial secrecy, while the company plans to determine the exact amount in court. Apple also wants to recover from Lancaster all the money obtained by them as a result of theft of documents. And it can be seen that the company plans to go to the end.