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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

#141

Post by krisoft »

solarkraft wrote: post #112
dragonwriter wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

By the same arguments their world fact book may be incredible.

I would agree with you that it's quite extraordinary. :)

Joking aside. I think the difference lies in how easily an adversary can refute the information. You can just call up a library or an embassy to verify most claims in the world factbook. How would you get access to a wide selection of leakers?

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

#143

Post by toyg »

Waterluvian wrote: post #33
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…

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…

Classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlwwVuSUUfc

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

#144

Post by personlurking »

calvinbhai wrote: post #29
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.

There was a somewhat interesting ELI5 on Reddit the other day about leaked films, with people on the production and distrubution side explaining how things work so that leaks are prevented.

Here are a few of the interesting bits:

Watermarks https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e...

NDAs https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e...

Splitting films in reels https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86rkbq/e...

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

#145

Post by jlgaddis »

calvinbhai wrote: post #29
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.

As I was reading the memo in TFA, I thought "I wonder if this memo has slight differences in it based upon who is viewing it".

Specifically, I noted one place where I thought a comma should normally have been. Perhaps it's "paranoia", but it seemed like that is one possible "variation" that could have been used.

I don't know how many Apple employees would view this memo (it seems unlikely that all ~135,000 would) but it doesn't seem like it would take very many slight differences like this to be able to generate a unique version of this memo for each viewer.

At that point, Apple just has to sit back and wait for the memo to leak. Compare the version of the memo posted in TFA to the "unique versions" rendered to the employees and you've either identified the leaker or, at the very least, significantly narrowed down the possibilities.

If Bloomberg were being careful, they would attempt to obtain copies of the memo from multiple "leakers" and compare them very carefully before publishing, making sure to look for these minute differences between them. If any were found, they'd have to be very diligent when posting the memo for all the world to see -- if they were being careful and if they cared about protecting the leaker's identity (one would assume they do but I think it'd be safe to assume there's a limit to how far they're willing to go).

Regardless, it's pretty clear that this is a huge attempt by Apple to deter any leakers or potential leakers from doing so.

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

#146

Post by jlgaddis »

walshemj wrote: post #49
IBM wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 leakin…

Its Money one of the classic reasons to leak

Are media organizations like 9to5mac (mentioned in Apple's memo) paying Apple insiders for the information they provide?

Personally, I wouldn't think that the leakers were getting paid. Even if they were, I imagine the amount that these particular online web sites are able to pay is very much -- especially when compared to the average Apple employee's salary.

This makes me think that money isn't the primary motivating factor, if it is a factor at all.

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

#147

Post by jacquesm »

wonton2 wrote: post #65
walshemj wrote: post #48

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)»

> 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)

After throwing out the all but three of the original 100 people saying one of the other 9 were the best skin cream.

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

#148

Post by jacquesm »

sidlls wrote: post #98
jadedhacker wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little skeptical. The intelligence services would say something that would make you skeptical of the motivations of leakers. If they're selfishly motivated the public doesn't mind them being locked up and put into isolation and tortured in ways that don't leave a mark. The leakers that come to mind immediately are Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning whom both suffered greatly for their leaks (Snowden had to leav…

Ego and narcissism are perhaps the most common and strong traits in leakers and betrayers of confidence. Financial motives and motivations to avoid scandal pale in comparison. So much so that I find it laughable clearance investigations focus on the latter at all.

And then there is the occasional upstanding citizen.

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

#149

Post by risotto_groupon »

kec wrote: post #85
trevyn wrote: 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.

I did drugs on company time and that excuse didn't work.

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

#150

Post by wmgries »

jadedhacker wrote: post #119
snowwrestler wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The notion that leakers are driven in part by ego was not invented by the CIA. It's well-known and exploited by reporters. As an example there's a short discussion in the recent movie The Post where Post reporters are trying to figure out who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Ben Bagdikian says something like these guys are always a bit of a showboat and it leads him to remember Ellsberg at Rand. EDIT to add: the CIA is in…

The Post is a movie about the Washington Post, which has a large undisclosed financial conflict of interest with the CIA. Jeff Bezos's AWS has a large CIA contract, and Bezos owns the Post. Getting a take about leakers in such a movie is not the best way to acquire a real picture of the world. The CIA only locks up brown people and tortures them in Thailand (star). It refers US leakers to the FBI which throws them in…

You understand that The Post is about the Pentagon Papers, and takes place in the 1970s, when Jeff Bezos was like 10 right?
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