Interestingly, Apple filed a lawsuit alleging the leak of confidential information about projects, including the recently launched Journal app. Just days ago, the iPhone maker was hit with a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly creating a walled garden with its devices and ecosystem. This time, Apple has accused former iOS software developer Andrew Aude of leaking details about its confidential projects. As a result, Apple is seeking damages in excess of $25,000 in addition to a jury trial.
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Apple lawsuit explained
According to a lawsuit filed in California state court (via mike rumor), Ord not only violated Apple’s confidentiality agreement, but also violated labor laws. Ord joined Apple in 2016 and worked on projects that gave him “information about dozens of Apple’s most sensitive projects,” including battery optimization efforts.
Over the course of five years, the former employee leaked information on more than six projects using his work-issued iPhone. These included the then-unreleased Journal app and the company’s first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. An allegation in the lawsuit states that “Mr. Ord made this disclosure even though Apple’s development work was confidential and not known to the public. In the following months, Mr. Ord disclosed More Apple secrets, including information about unreleased products and hardware information.
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The complaint alleges that Ord leaked information about the final functionality of the Wall Street Journal app exclusively to a Wall Street Journal reporter via phone call in 2023. Shortly after, Aaron Tilley, a reporter for the same organization, published a story titled “Apple plans to launch iPhone diary app to expand health initiatives.” Ord is also accused of using the encrypted messaging app Signal to send “more than 1,400” messages to Tilley, and “more than 10,000 messages” to another reporter at The Information.
Measures taken by Apple
The Cupertino-based tech giant claims it learned of Aude’s alleged breach of a confidentiality agreement in 2023 and was fired later that year amid misconduct allegations. Apple said in a 2023 interview with Ord that the employee denied all accusations but then went to the bathroom and deleted “substantial evidence” from the iPhone he was issued at work.
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A month later, Ord reportedly admitted to some wrongdoing and the evidence was not destroyed, but when Apple wanted to settle out of court, Ord failed to cooperate, leaving the company with no choice but to go to court. The company views Ord as a “continuous threat.”
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