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

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

#81
post #59

I am interested in what criminal activity warrants an arrest for leaking company information. Seems like it would be a civil issue?

Cupertino is a company town, their police department does what Apple tells them to.

Cupertino doesn't have its own police or fire department. Get real.

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

#82
post #70

Can they not tweak specific word variations to track down where the leak is coming from? You can narrow it down to which department the leak is coming from at least.

Is there a name for that? Steganography? Watermarking? Both don’t specifically describe the idea of swapping words or homographs (rn = m) to embed the name of the person who received a copy of a document to bust the leaker.

[deleted]

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

#83

What I find baffling is the difference in leaks pre and post Jobs era. Perhaps management should look at themselves also why people are leaking now and weren’t before.

There were plenty of leaks while Jobs was there.

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

#84
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No you can read the declassified analysis of why people leak on the CIA website https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig...

The point, I think, was that CIA is biased, not that they came to these results. You cannot really trust their research, since they analyze their «enemies». It is like when a skin care company cites that «9 out of 10 said this is the best skin cream (in a survey of 30 people)»

The CIA is interested in leakers because it uses them to get information from foreign intelligence agencies. They are not enemies.

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

#85
post #66

My favorite take on Apple’s culture of secrecy and how it harms everyone comes from the illustrious Bret Victor: http://worrydream.com/Apple/ In short, your personal goals and the goals of the corporation and its executives rarely align as much as you think.

I don't really understand what you're trying to get at. That just sounds like sour grapes from someone who didn't totally grok that what you do on company time belongs to the company.

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

#86
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…

Maybe I'm simple but I'm sometimes at tradeshows as an engineering authority. Its hard at times not to say too much, because it's just kind of natural. You have questions and I want to help. I want to share knowledge. I can absolutely appreciate why I can't tell people everything they want to know but it's not my natural state to decline to do so. An example from this week. Someone was asking about the usual question…

You'll learn more than you ever expected to know by hanging out at hotel bars during tradeshows.

Another great source is the airplane ride to the show. I've heard of at least one tech columnist that would watch people working on laptop presentations on the flights and pick up all kinds of scoops.

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

#87
post #36

This highly contrasts Netflix, which barely has any leaks, although discloses almost all their information to employees. Is it Apple's company size and culture that make leaks inevitable?

What would Netflix leak? Apple leaks are much more valuable because people are excited about how the hardware may evolve.

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

#88
I think Apple obsesses too much about secrecy and attributes too much of it to its success. Except for the iPhone launch, almost nothing they've launched hasn't been leaked ahead of time, and yet, it is still the most valuable company in the world and their sales are through the roof.

It seems they are still pining for that "shock-and-awe" of Steve Jobs original 2007 iPhone introduction, but don't realize that's no why people buy Apple products these days.

Think of the negative repercussions of this. Creating a hermit kingdom, with chilling effects where people worry about collaboration with the outside world. It has certainly had some effect on the ability to recruit AI researchers.

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

#89

I am interested in what criminal activity warrants an arrest for leaking company information. Seems like it would be a civil issue?

18 U.S. Code § 1832 - Theft of trade secrets

Carries a fine or up to 10 years in jail, and yes - that US Code part means it's a federal offense.

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

#90
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point, I think, was that CIA is biased, not that they came to these results. You cannot really trust their research, since they analyze their «enemies». It is like when a skin care company cites that «9 out of 10 said this is the best skin cream (in a survey of 30 people)»

The CIA is interested in leakers because it uses them to get information from foreign intelligence agencies. They are not enemies.

> The CIA is interested in leakers because it uses them to get information from foreign intelligence agencies.

To be fair, that is also a reason why they would have a motive to spread misinformation about what they believe motivates leakers, since information about their beliefs on that matter give target nations clues to both actual vulnerabilities and CIAs likely means of attempting to exploit them.

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