They very possibly did the guy a favor exposing his identity not only to insulate him from hasher retribution but also as pretty clear evidence it was an innocent mistake. No one would leave their identity on the device if they had personally conspired to sell it on the black market. I don't think it's that big of a deal. If the device was being field tested Apple was accepting the risk of theft/loss. If it had been…
AFAIK this is the first time there has been a leak this big. It is a big deal to Apple.