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."

Comments

Not quite

[bconway]

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.

Re:Not quite

[GeckoFood]

Exactly! From the article, here is a statement to further your point along:

Apple says an employment agreement that Lopez signed with Volt's Sacramento office prohibited him from divulging confidential information.

This is eactly what these agreements are for -- when you have some dumbass who decides to go against a contractual agreement, the nondisclosure is the company's legal route of recourse.

No tears shed for this guy. I hope they take him to the cleaners.

So?

[9Numbernine9]

Employee signs NDA. Employee breaks NDA. Employer gets mad. This is news?

Re:So?

[Apathy costs bills]

Employee signs NDA. Employee breaks NDA. Employer gets mad. This is news?

In the case of Apple Computer, yes, it is news. Remember that Wozniak was one of the founders, and he is a famous phone phreak, a blue box-er like Captain Crunch. He was hacking Ma Bell and hiding from the Feds back in the day.

Every corporation has a corporate culture. When was the last time you saw Microsoft publicly attacking it's one of its developers for 'leaking secrets'? It happens, but Apple has a disturbing history of jealously pursuing it's employees. The corporate culture of Apple has transitioned from the hackers' culture of Woz to a Culture of Fear. If you are a developer at Apple, high profile anti-employee actions like this send a message: secrecy first, collaboration second.

It's a very interesting transition. I'm not making a value judgement about, other than to say yes, it is News for Nerds.

Re:So?

[margaret]

If you are a developer at Apple, high profile anti-employee actions like this send a message: secrecy first, collaboration second.

This has nothing to do with collaboration. The guy was leaking info to a rumors site about an upcoming product. He wasn't seeking input from the community about how to make it better. It probably just made him feel cool.

In the interest of free information

[Exmet Paff Daxx]

It's best that I disclose these trade secrets here on Slashdot, where they won't be deleted. Information longs to be free.

• 'Think Different' means 'sue your employees'
  
• 'Switch' is actually a metaphor for the one button mouse
  
• Make sure everything is aerodynamic
  
• Make sure everything is shiny
  
• Industry standards are for idiots
  
• People like paying twice as much
  
• One button mouse masterstroke to be followed by one button keyboard
  
• Quicktime will save us
  
• If it's not from Berkley, it's CRAP

Re:In the interest of free information

[saider]

One button mouse masterstroke to be followed by one button keyboard

Joe: What does the one button do?

Salesman : Whoa! I'm getting in over my head. Here's the number for technical support.

Re:Setec Astronomy

[tmhsiao]

-I'd like Peace on Earth, Good will toward Men
-We're the United States Government. We don't do that.

Just do what I do....

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

The Message I'm getting

[Alexander]

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".

Don't Trust Contractors

[Aggrazel]

You may as well say, don't trust ANYONE.

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. /rant off

Re:Not that it hurt anything

[ipjohnson]

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?

Re:Apple... you disgust me.

[JordoCrouse]

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.