Apple has sent an internal memo warning employees against leaking information to the public. The memo, which was ironically leaked, warns that the company ” caught 29 leakers” and that 12 of them ended up arrested.
Apple is notoriously secretive about its work, and traditionally tries to keep a lid on everything that happens. Despite this, there has been an increasing number of leaks about its future projects; reaching the point where specifications for iPhones are well known long before they are announced.
The memo explains that leaked information could “negatively impact sales of the current model; give rival companies more time to begin on a competitive response; and lead to fewer sales of that new product when it arrives.”
Leaking private information owned by a company is a federal offence in the United States; as it falls under the category of theft of trade secrets and network intrusion. Which mostly means that those arrested will likely face heavy fines or jail time in the event that they are found guilty by the court system.
It should be clarified that it wasn’t only Apple’s internal staff that was caught leaking information. Of the 29 individuals caught, some were from partner firms and others were from along the Apple supply chain.
The fact that this information has been itself leaked is rather unfortunate for the company, which is clearly trying to clamp down on this behaviour. However, it provides yet another insight into the workings of one of the most secretive companies in the world.
[Source: Bloomberg]
