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In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

bloomberg.com

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Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#21

Post by koolba »

IBM wrote: post #2

Somewhat ironic that this memo got leaked but I think in this case it actually serves their purpose for it to be read by everyone (including potential employees). I think this part is key and is something I've always wondered about: >While it may seem flattering to be approached, it’s important to remember that you’re getting played. The success of these outsiders is measured by obtaining Apple’s secrets from you and…

> I completely understand what's in it for the reporter, but I've never understood what the employee gets out of it. I've been reading Mark Gurman's scoops about Apple for years so I'm definitely biased in wanting that to continue. It just seems like there's tons of upside for the reporter and only downside for the leaker.

There's four reasons people leak information:

1. Out of moral responsibility to report unsafe or illegal activity.

2. To cause direct harm to the root organization because they feel slighted by some action in the past.

3. The "leak" is officially sanctioned as part of a submarine.

4. Ego.

Numbers 3 and 4 are the biggies.

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#22

Post by ghaff »

IBM wrote: post #15
melvinmt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who says the employee is not being rewarded?

Maybe they are? But I think that would magnify the downside of leaking by 10x for limited upside? Note I'm talking about people who work in Cupertino. It makes complete sense for someone working at a supplier in Asia to leak for money, doesn't really make much sense for a software engineer.

Having worked with the tech press a lot, having written in pubs myself, and knowing quite a few reporters well, I think I can confidently say that payments for inside information are pretty rare. In a previous job, I knew lots of information about many companies under NDA and never had a whiff of this sort of thing.

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#23

Post by jsgo »

kabdib wrote: post #5
sneak wrote: post #3

This article sounds like it was written by Apple. “everything to lose”? Really?

"You'll nevah woik in dis bidness again..." Frankly, when you tell a room full of people about something it's practically guaranteed to leak. The exceptions seem to be (a) secrets nobody cares about ("We're rewriting our ductwork design software!") and things that involve government secrets (and that doesn't always work). I had a couple of housemates who were in the US submarine service. They never talked about what…

Whereas I was at university with a guy who was previously in the Navy and was stationed on a large sub (name escapes me) and he claimed when they were at port and bored, they'd look into hotel windows where the blinds were left open with the periscope.

Hopefully for Apple's sake, he never went to work for them.

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#25

Post by DINKDINK »

yodon wrote: post #14
IBM wrote: post #2

Somewhat ironic that this memo got leaked but I think in this case it actually serves their purpose for it to be read by everyone (including potential employees). I think this part is key and is something I've always wondered about: >While it may seem flattering to be approached, it’s important to remember that you’re getting played. The success of these outsiders is measured by obtaining Apple’s secrets from you and…

>I’ve never understood what the employee gets out of it The intelligence services have done a great deal of research into the persona of the press leaker/Wikileaks leaker (as distinct from the more traditional espionage leaker). A common trait is for the press leaker to be either highly over-qualified for their job or believe themselves to be over-qualified for their job. The belief coming out of that research is a s…

>research into the persona of the press leaker

Source?

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#26

Post by draw_down »

> "These people not only lose their jobs, they can face extreme difficulty finding employment elsewhere"

Come on. I understand they want to keep their new iPhones a secret and that's fine, but they really shouldn't be jeopardizing people's employment. Not to mention that they are fine with leaking to the press themselves when it suits their purpose.

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#28

Post by matt_wulfeck »

koolba wrote: post #21
IBM wrote: post #2

Somewhat ironic that this memo got leaked but I think in this case it actually serves their purpose for it to be read by everyone (including potential employees). I think this part is key and is something I've always wondered about: >While it may seem flattering to be approached, it’s important to remember that you’re getting played. The success of these outsiders is measured by obtaining Apple’s secrets from you and…

> I completely understand what's in it for the reporter, but I've never understood what the employee gets out of it. I've been reading Mark Gurman's scoops about Apple for years so I'm definitely biased in wanting that to continue. It just seems like there's tons of upside for the reporter and only downside for the leaker. There's four reasons people leak information: 1. Out of moral responsibility to report unsafe o…

I think it’s a lot more complicated than your oversimplification. For example, where does a quid-pro-quo relationship fit into your categories?

Saying leaked out of “ego” is equivalent to saying it was leaked “because”. We know it was something internal to the leaker’s psyche, but research should help us understand what led up to that point and how it could have been avoided.

For example, would you say a gossiper gossips because of “ego”?

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#29

Post by calvinbhai »

Jyaif wrote: post #24

Weird, a friend at Apple received the same email, but with different numbers. (giving leakers heart attacks is a hobby of mine)

Easy way to narrow down who is leaking eh?

Always thought that’s the best way to narrow down the leaks. Give variations of info to subgroups, and target the group based on which variant was leaked.

Re: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information

#30

Post by IBM »

yodon wrote: post #14
IBM wrote: post #2

Somewhat ironic that this memo got leaked but I think in this case it actually serves their purpose for it to be read by everyone (including potential employees). I think this part is key and is something I've always wondered about: >While it may seem flattering to be approached, it’s important to remember that you’re getting played. The success of these outsiders is measured by obtaining Apple’s secrets from you and…

>I’ve never understood what the employee gets out of it The intelligence services have done a great deal of research into the persona of the press leaker/Wikileaks leaker (as distinct from the more traditional espionage leaker). A common trait is for the press leaker to be either highly over-qualified for their job or believe themselves to be over-qualified for their job. The belief coming out of that research is a s…

I can come up with plausible reasons for why intelligence leakers do what they do (sense of duty, serving public interest, etc). I can't come up with any for an Apple employee.

The leaks an Apple employee makes is about inconsequential stuff like what features the next iPhone will have. It's not even in the same ballpark as someone who is leaking something illegal going on at the company or someone at Facebook leaking the Boz memo, for example.

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