Apple sues former employee for revealing sensitive information to journalists

A former Apple employee is being sued by the tech giant for improper disclosure of the company's confidential information.

Andrew Aude, a former employee, is being sued for proliferating information to various media outlets regarding company products that were yet to be released.

Aude “was a highly compensated engineer who joined Apple after graduating from college in 2016,” according to the complaint.

During his time at the company, the defendant “leaked information about more than half a dozen Apple policies and products including (in his own words) “top secret” information without authorization to do so.”

Aude revealed details about unannounced apps like the iPhone Journal App, product hardware characteristics like the Apple Vision Pro as first reported by Mac Rumours, and other information pertaining to strategies, spatial computing, and more.

The defendant used his work iPhone to leak information to the press, contacting a Wall Street Journalist whom Aude codenamed “Homeboy.”

The pair exchanged roughly 1,400 encrypted messages using the messaging service Signal.

Aude sent “Homeboy” a “final feature list of an unannounced Apple product over the phone,” the complaint reads.

The former employee supposedly “took issue” with the products in question and wanted to “kill” the products and features.

Aude connected with another journalist to whom he sent 10,000 text messages and travelled across the continent to meet.

Apple purports that Aude disclosed sensitive information to external individuals for several years.

In a text message sent by Aude, it states that he “can’t wait for chaos to break out before Apple corporate people even wake up.”

While in the process of being interviewed about his misconduct, Aude deleted significant amounts of evidence from the company device, including the Signal app that “memorialized his history of leaking information to Homeboy.”

The company claims that it has suffered monetary and non-monetary damage alongside incurring additional damages, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees and investigationinvestigation costs.

Apple is claiming an unknown amount in damages to be determined at trial, punitive damages based on malicious misconduct, and other legal solutions.