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Apple Accuses Worker of Leaks
booboothefoo writes "A former Apple Computer contract worker in Sacramento has been slapped with both civil and criminal charges for allegedly
leaking Apple's trade secrets on the Internet." I think the real message here is "don't trust contractors." Or maybe "rumor sites are evil." Or maybe "Setec Astronomy."
I think the real message here is "don't trust contractors." Or maybe "rumor sites are evil." Or maybe "Setec Astronomy."
That's funny, the message I took away from it was that if you violate a contract, the company has the right to, and often will, sue you.
Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?
"Setec Astronomy" = anagram("Too Many Secrets");
Employee signs NDA. Employee breaks NDA. Employer gets mad. This is news?
Illegitimi non Carborundum.
If guns kill people, then CmdrTaco's keyboard misspells words.
Obvious troll, but I'll bite I guess.
When you sign a non disclosure agreement and then disclose information covered by the agreement you have violeted a contract. At that point any company will follow through with legal action against you. Not just Apple or Microsoft. Any company that has trade secrets is going to do what they can to protect them. This isn't apple holding on to brainspace. This is about someone violating the terms of a contract and Apple following through on enforcing it.
-I'd like Peace on Earth, Good will toward Men
-We're the United States Government. We don't do that.
"My God...It's full of ads!" -Fry, about the Internet, Futurama
I have been asked to sign a few NDAs, I just said "I'm taking them home to review them." I then never spoke of them again, and was never asked for them back.
Or maybe the real message is, on a slow news day we have nothing better to post.
Really, in Lorne Greene/Marc Anderssen Internet years/time, how old is this news?
How controversial is it? If it weren't Apple but somebody as supremely unsexy like say, Unisys, would it even be news?
This is neither news - it's past it's prime, nor is it something "that matters".
"oohhh... I didn't know Schopenhauer was a philosopher!"
Information is immuteable, if someone needs to know, someone else needs to know too.
I donno think that word means what you think it means.
"Immutable" means not changeable, or "carved in stone." The past is immutable. CDROMs are immutable. Stone tablets are immutable.
Given that definition, your comment makes basically no sense, so I have to think that you meant something else.
I write in my journal
Apple has a history of protecting its goods and creativity and for that reason, I somehow doubt if it mattered whether or not the person leaking the trade secret in this case was a contractor.
My understanding is that if Apple does not actively protect and police its trade secrets, then its innovative goods and ideas no longer receive protection as trade secrets. No evidence is required to show that Apple is an innovative company --- if it did not receive protection for its innovation, then it may have little reason to create future innovative products.
Considering the pervasiveness of companies to recruit employees from other companies by using 'moles,' and Microsoft's history of heavy-handed tactics, perhaps Apple has another reason to protection its innovation: Microsoft.
Do you truly believe Microsoft has never placed a 'mole' or has an Apple employee it relies on for information? For also this reason, Apple has no choice but to pursue trade secrets claims in court against everyone it can, or it will entirely lose protection.
Pretty much, Apple is all about innovation and cutting-edge products. Take that away, and all I see is a company making an OS, keyboards, and mice.
You may as well say, don't trust ANYONE.
/rant off
The only real difference between a contractor and an employee is how you get your paycheck. To say that someone is going to be more honest just because they are an actual employee is assinine.
I'm a contractor and I take my job very seriously, there is no way in hell I would ever betray the confidence of any of my employers. Not just because it would tarnish my reputation with future employers but also because I am that kind of person.
The company I am contracted to right now is very contractor friendly, I've seen some that are not. But the whole attitude that contractors are somehow less deserving of trust than regular employees really irritates me.
Now this guy clearly broke his contract. But it would not have made a difference if he were a regular employee or a contractor, the responsibility for trust is in the individual, not in how his contract of employment is written. I'm sure regular employees at Apple have the same moral obligations to keep a lid on trade secrets.
As a contractor, you have to be an idiot to leak stuff: who'll hire you in the future, especially if you're a Macintosh specialist...
Dude, I think I can see my house from here.
I am a contractor for Volt, at Apple, in Sacramento, this guy did violate the NDA, and if you have ever worked here, thats a big big no-no, you don't leak confidential information, there are markers everywhere, he didn't do it on accident, and he should get in trouble for it, I can't comment on how big a fight they are putting against him, but he did mess up, and thats the consequences.
and to the guy talking about 'ripping off BSD code and selling it for Millions' Apple GIVES AWAY DARWIN under open source guidelines, and it works on PC's and on Mac's, they only 'sell' the Quartz interface (the one WE developed), quit bitching, they give it away, they aren't ripping it off, its a superior product, its free, they used it, this is what SHOULD be happening, Microsoft is a different story.
This is why I do my own plumbing. Anyone who puts their toilet main in the hands of other is surley misguided at best.
What a great movie. It dealt with information security before most people understood what it was... and explained digitial encryption in way most people could understand.
Whistler: Cryptography systems are based on math problems so complex that they can't be solved without a key.
They also explained why being able to easily solve just one of those problems would render all encryption based on the same problem (Long factorials, anyone?) moot. We're coming up against this with Quantum technology. While it will provide encryption that can't be broken, all previous encryption will be pretty easily brute-forced with even a relatively weak quantum computer.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
it's called being paid fairly
The wonderful thing about the word "fair" is that the opposing parties on any issue will have radically different ideas of what it means.
It is also the word that the parent of a six-year-old hates most. If I had a nickel for every time I've cringed at, "But it's not fair!" I wouldn't have to work for a living.
In other words, my friend, quit your whining.
why cant companies do something simple like NOT STEAL FROM THEIR EMPLOYEES?
If Slashdot ever posts an article about an employer stealing from an employee, you can post this comment again. For now, though, I think we should all just stick to the subject at hand. Okay? Thanks.
I write in my journal
out of the guy is what it sounds like according to the article
:)
"This suit against Lopez helps show the company vigorously tries to protect its secrets, Mireles said. In addition, such suits could serve to deter other potential leakers, he said"
Apple has taken legal action against coworkers that leaked info in the past (also mentioned in the article) but I think the real reason why they got upset is
"Steve uses Macworld and other appearances more effectively than any other (technology) leader," Bajarin said. "In that context they want to have that surprise element," because posting those secrets early dilutes the impact, Bajarin said."
of course the lawyers will argue:
"Innovation is in Apple's DNA, so the protection of trade secrets is crucial to our success. Our policy is to take legal actions where necessary to preserve the confidentiality of our intellectual property," Apple said in a prepared statement.
Just because Apple made a great new OS - doesn't mean they're avid sourceforge users
Ave Molech Setting
He broke an NDA point blank, it doesn't matter if it hurt sales or not.
I have no simpathy for him he signed it, he knew what he was donig when he broke it. Why do you feel it makes a difference if sales where hurt?
I for one find this extremely disgusting. I understand that businesses need to protect their trade secrets, but I think this crosses the line.
Lemme see. The guy signed an agreement, took the confidental information, and purposely violated the agreement and posted the information on the internet. Oh, yeah, there was a line crossed, but news flash - it wasn't Apple.
If I had a company, and one of my employees breaks any NDA agreements like that, I'm gonna fire him first and turn him over the authorities second.
I don't care what sort of Stallmanistic view of society you have, you cannot possibly believe that somebody should be allowed to sign an agreement, and then break it because they feel that "information should be free".
When you sign your name to an agreement - thats it. You can't just go back later and say "oh, I was kidding". I hope when they throw the book at this guy, it hits him square in the forehead.
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Setec Astronomy:
"cooty's rat semen"
"too many secrets"
If all the world's a stage, anyone who says they want better lighting spends far too much time in a dark theatre.
Way back once upon a time, I worked a fab line as a "contractor", it royally sucked. "Night and fog" atmosphere, people you work with would just stop showing up, and getting curious about why was a good way to follow them out the door.
--Dave
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!