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Apple Security Chief Steps Down After iPhone Gaffe

Posted by timothy on from the don't-go-to-bars-any-more dept.

Trailrunner7 writes "Apple's vice president of global security has reportedly stepped down, roughly two months after the surfacing of news reports that an iPhone prototype had gone missing for the second time in less than two years. John Theriault, who came to Apple from Pfizer and was a former FBI agent, has retired in the wake of controversy regarding the device's disappearance and the subsequent efforts to track it down. Apple did not return a request for comment. Nevertheless, Theriault's departure follows a public relations dustup that began when an Apple employee left the prototype at a bar in San Francisco."

61 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    he should have used Find my iPhone.

  2. But what more could he have done? by Compaqt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Kudos to him for taking responsibility, but:

    The one iPhone was lost at a bar.

    Is he saying that he should have had 2 security men following each Apple employee around during work and outside of work?

    I'm sure there was more than one person working on the next version of the iPhone at that point.

    And security can promulgate all the edicts they want, but people who "have work to do" either have them overturned or find a way a around them.

    Seriously, what more could he have done short of implementing a police state?

    --
    I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
    1. Re:But what more could he have done? by MF4218 · · Score: 1

      Not have allowed sociable people test out the prototype? Evaluate each employee in terms of likelihood to leave something on a table? There's always a way to do things better.

    2. Re:But what more could he have done? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The better question might be "what less could he have done"?

      The 'controversy' over the handling of the lost iPhone includes the bit where Apple security flacks allegedly impersonated police officers in order to conduct an illicit search of somebody's house...

      For a company of Apple's stature, with extensive offshore manufacturing and significant interest from both highly-visible tech-rumor-bloggers and 3rd party accessory makers who want to have their tooling done before the competition, the leak level is pretty good. Getting the company embroiled in a potentially messy criminal case, though, is one of those 'career limiting' moves...

    3. Re:But what more could he have done? by obarthelemy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The issue is not so much that a prototype was lost, but how they handled the retrieval efforts, passing themselves off as police, making immigration threats...

      --
      The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
    4. Re:But what more could he have done? by hedwards · · Score: 2

      That's silly, the obvious answer is to just glue the phone to the employee. Also attach it via some sort of leash.

    5. Re:But what more could he have done? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Arguably, if Apple wanted the investigation to have been conducted in accordance with US law, they wouldn't have hired an FBI agent...

    6. Re:But what more could he have done? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This may have more to do with the second 'lost' iPhone which was handled very poorly by all reports.

      You don't impersonate police officers, by omission or commission. You don't pretend it is an episode of CSI or a rerun of 'Enemy of the State". Apple has never been forthcoming about what happened (if anything). Sounds like a screw up from the folks running the show.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    7. Re:But what more could he have done? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      That's silly, the obvious answer is to just glue the phone to the employee. Also attach it via some sort of leash.

      Nonsense - we've seen the real solution right here on Slashdot.

      Cut off one of the employee's arms and replace it with a prosthetic. Then embed the phone in the prosthetic.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    8. Re:But what more could he have done? by nightfell · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It wasn't the fact that the iPhones were lost. It's possible there were different policies he could have implemented, but the risk of loss is impossible to circumvent. I suspect this has to do with the way the losses were handled after the fact.

      Impersonating police officers (through deceptive statements and actions, even if never explicitly claiming to be a police officer or wearing a police uniform or badge, thus technically avoiding criminal misconduct) is certainly something Apple management is not comfortable with. Given his past professional career, this seems like something ingrained into his security style, and wouldn't be a practice he would be able to sufficiently alter in the future.

      Frankly, although I'm sure he's good at what he does, it's good that he left Apple. The two just weren't a good fit.

    9. Re:But what more could he have done? by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Or surgically. Why bother with messy glue. Anyway, you clicked "I Agree".

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    10. Re:But what more could he have done? by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Make sure hardware doesn't leave the building. Lots of companies have protocols like security counts that are highly secure... banks, military...

    11. Re:But what more could he have done? by Sancho · · Score: 3, Informative

      They wanted them to leave the building. They needed to be tested in a variety of conditions, not just all in relatively small location.

    12. Re:But what more could he have done? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is how you end up with really shitty phones.

      The whole iPhone 4 antenna issue came about because Apple required employees to use cases during field testing, after all.

    13. Re:But what more could he have done? by sp1nl0ck · · Score: 4, Funny

      As far as putting the devices on a leash is concerned, maybe the employees who lost them didn't want to pay for tethering.

      --
      War is God's way of teaching Americans geography
    14. Re:But what more could he have done? by turbidostato · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Kudos to him for taking responsibility"

      How said he is taking responsibility (in the sense of "yes, it's my fault")?

      There are two kinds of responsibility-related resignations:
      1) As a way to say "I failed, I don't deserve this position".
      2) As a way to say "I tried to do my job but the higher ups don't allow me to do it properly: I won't continue under these circumnstances".

      No where in the article nor the links there's indication about what's the case here.

    15. Re:But what more could he have done? by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Well then my theory is wrong. I stand corrected.

    16. Re:But what more could he have done? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      "Seriously, what more could he have done short of implementing a police state?"

      Oh, I dunno, don't let people take them to a bar?

    17. Re:But what more could he have done? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You don't impersonate police officers, by omission or commission. You don't pretend it is an episode of CSI or a rerun of 'Enemy of the State".

      The guy was a former FBI agent. The FBI has been breaking the law with impunity for many years. Why should Apple be any different?

    18. Re:But what more could he have done? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      Or maybe..dun dun dun...he was in on the leaks!

    19. Re:But what more could he have done? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      The truth of the allegations is unknown, at present; but 'consent' obtained by fraud, deception, or coercion is not generally recognized as valid. And, of course, impersonation of a police officer is a crime in itself in California.
      We don't know whether the situation played out as alleged; but if it did, it amounted to criminal activity...

    20. Re:But what more could he have done? by whisper_jeff · · Score: 1

      There's also "you screwed up so badly that you're going to quit and we'll be done with this or we'll fire you, possibly forcing us to explain why we fired you revealing the extent of your screwup - your choice."

    21. Re:But what more could he have done? by stackOVFL · · Score: 1
      Actually they did not impersonate police officers. Two Apple security investigators were accompanied by four SFPD officers: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-09-02/tech/30127561_1_gizmodo-iphone-sf-weekly

      UPDATE: The San Francisco Police department has changed its story -- it now says that 4 officers accompanied 2 Apple investigators. The officers stayed outside while the investigators searched CalderÃn's home, which is presumably why there was no paperwork filed.

    22. Re:But what more could he have done? by sonicmerlin · · Score: 1

      Don't know why you were rated "funny". More like insightful.

  3. He left it! by Starsleeper · · Score: 1

    He left the phone in a bar! Big mistake.

    1. Re:He left it! by Elbart · · Score: 1

      Bravo.

    2. Re:He left it! by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      ah...too bad your an anon. I'd give mod points for that one.

    3. Re:He left it! by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      I don't see why you should bar anons from getting mod points.

  4. Maybe they need to rethink their policy... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

    ... on "leaking" things to the world by leaving prototypes (or pre-release models) in bars and then stirring up an immense media circus.

    1. Re:Maybe they need to rethink their policy... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2

      Even after this article you still believe that?

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    2. Re:Maybe they need to rethink their policy... by flosofl · · Score: 1

      Facts are pesky things if they interfere in your world view. Just look at creationists or 9/11 "truthers" for an example.

      --
      "This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
    3. Re:Maybe they need to rethink their policy... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Just because it went wrong does mean that it wasn't intentional.

      Right... so... we're right back at zero.

      They had people who could impersonate police officers... available at short notice.

      ... and this couldn't have been for security?

      I expected a little more. Seriously. Something like: "Well the guy did have a box of donuts in the car, he was obviously off to a marketing meeting afterwards".

      My diagnosis? Slashdot headline poisoning.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    4. Re:Maybe they need to rethink their policy... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I mean can you believe that people think that you can't melt steel with jet fuel, and that Apple ever "lose" prototyps by accident?

  5. "...was a former FBI agent." by theillien · · Score: 1

    So he went back to being an FBI agent?

    1. Re:"...was a former FBI agent." by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      The TSA have offered him a job.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  6. Yeah, right by l00sr · · Score: 1

    Oh, this is rich. I think they mean, their head of MARKETING stepped down as a blatant MARKETING PLOY to sell more iPhones after his wildly successful STEALTH MARKETING campaign involving fake engineers accidentally-on-purpose forgetting their MARKETING iPhones in MARKETING bars. Well done, sir, well done.

    1. Re:Yeah, right by aiken_d · · Score: 1

      Does anyone else even bother reading SHOUTING like this? Usually I skip over the screamers without reading or replying, but just this once I'm curious about anyone who might bother to read it. If you did read it, was in in spite of the screaming or because of it? Is that ever an effective way to communicate?

      --
      If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
  7. To my knowledge, at least 4 of the 4S's were lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    To my knowledge, at least 4 of the 4S's were lost.

    In addition, I know it took Apple security days to get back to the reporting person when they reported the phone lost immediately after the loss was noted.

    Apple has also been pretty arbitrary on whether or not it fires someone who loses a prototype. My expectation is that there is the strong possibility that if one of the people who was fired for the same thing another employee wasn't fired over, and the only difference was how fast Apple security reacted, they'd have a good case for wrongful termination (yes, this is a hint; you know who you are). I'm afraid I'm a little more cynical than that, and I think that the other correlating factor, how close were the persons RSUs to vesting, probably played a factor in the firings I know about.

    Ever since Steve's decline started, it's left all the former Sun middle managers they've hired driving the bus, and the likely destination is the same place Sun ended up in their bus. If their increasingly draconian employee policies don't cause their talent to flee, then Tim Cook's statement that they had "3 years worth of Steve's Ideas" should, since that clock started ticking about one and a half years ago.

    -AC

  8. Will the police help me if I lose my cell phone? by mykos · · Score: 2

    I would love to have Dial-A-SWAT at my disposal for losing a single cell phone like Apple does.

  9. Should Have Been Fired by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 1

    They let this guy "step down". They should have fired his ass -- out of a cannon if necessary -- the day the news broke of his illegal involvement.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  10. stop makeing them in china so bribing need more by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    stop makeing them in china so bribing people will need more then just paying some one 10K-20K.

    That is where some of apple leak have came from.

  11. Just guessing here ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... but his biggest problem might have been letting Apple security pose or misrepresent themselves as SF police when searching Calderon's apartment (hence the lawsuit). That's a major no-no in most jurisdictions. In some places, real police are available to moonlight for private security firms (with real badges and uniforms).

    The cop union is going to be pissed.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  12. Re:Just another corporation by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I doubt it will be for the better. With all of Jobs control freak ways and other foibles, the vision and the spark that made Apple stand out is gone.

  13. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  14. This wasn't really over a couple phones by haruchai · · Score: 1

    The real reason he resigned was that he let China steal 22 complete Apple "Stoers", including employees and no one noticed.

    --
    Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  15. Re:Will the police help me if I lose my cell phone by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2

    I would love to have Dial-A-SWAT at my disposal for losing a single cell phone like Apple does.

    Yeah? Well, here's how you do it:

    • Start an American technology company.
    • Create a highly successful line of cell phones. If you're at the success level that other companies are changing their designs to be like yours, you're a good chunk of the way there.
    • After three successful generations, do a complete redesign with tantalizing new features.
    • Set up your release schedule to be fairly routine so people know when to expect it. The more time overseas competition will have to deaden the impact of your new device, the more SWAT team members you'll get.

    Okay, once you reach this point, you'll get the 'Dial-A-Swat' service from virtually any city your HQ is in. You're free to lose your phone, then. There are other ways, too, but they all involve that phone being worth millions of dollars.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  16. Re:Will the police help me if I lose my cell phone by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

    So fucking what? My phone is worth more to me then Apples phone is to 'it"...

    No, it is not.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  17. Good Grief. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    We only have the word of the guy who "found" the phone (and then denied any knowledge of it when that was obviously not the truth) that these guys claimed to be cops.

    Certainly the Apple Recovery Team was aggressive and intimidating, but there is really no trustworthy evidence they broke the law.

    On the other hand we have a guy who "found" an expensive iPhone at a bar, took it home, failed to do anything to find the owner, and then disposed of it when it looked like the authorities were closing in. Not really the actions of someone who's words I would take at face value.

    You'll note that this guy did NOT "lawyer up" and sue Apple for whatever it is the Apple Thugs did. Why do you suppose that is?

    And, by the way, where is the phone NOW?

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Good Grief. by flosofl · · Score: 1

      He did in fact "lawyer up". His lawyer is currently in talks with Apple, and from a legal standpoint pushing the head of security out the door is going to look pretty bad for Apple.

      --
      "This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
    2. Re:Good Grief. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      ...and from a legal standpoint pushing the head of security out the door is going to look pretty bad for Apple.

      Nonsense.

      From a legal standpoint, it doesn't matter one way or the other if Apple fired the head security dude, and indeed what they fired him for is pure speculation. What matters are the facts . Not how the facts "look", but what the facts are.

      The Court does not care how the facts "look". the Court cares what the facts are .

      At this point we really don't know all the facts, but there is really no particular reason to believe a guy who "found" an expensive piece of electronics and declined to do the honorable thing and look for the owner.

      If we are going to talk about how things "look", seriously, the guy that "found" the phone did not exactly behave in an honest and honorable way. What it "looks" like to me is that he "found" this phone, and rather than contacting the bar or the police, decided to see if he could profit from having "found" this phone, either by selling it to some less than honest Web site, on eBay, or down at the corner. But as the phone became "hotter" (being a stolen item, it was "hot" already), he decided to ditch it and lie lie lie.

      Seriously, Apple didn't pick some random address and show up. I know there is a lot of Apple Hate here, but come on.

      Disclosure: I do not work for Apple, and do not own any Apple hardware. In fact, I've never owned any Apple hardware. Can't afford that shiny stuff.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    3. Re:Good Grief. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      I have no reason to be impressed by the moral fiber of the "finder"; but we have SFPD's confirmation that(just as the "finder" originally claimed, before any independent confirmation was available) that four of their people accompanied two of Apple's to the address given, that the two Apple people went inside to look, and that none of the SFPD did. We also know that the contact information allegedly provided by the Apple agent at the time matched those of an Apple agent on Linkedin, who promptly nuked his profile after the story appeared(which doesn't prove that he didn't look the details up in order to add flavor to his story; but is interesting). That doesn't tell us what was said at the scene; but it isn't as though our questionably fibrous friend made the incident up: we just don't know whether he embellished it.

      Again, none of this suggests anything in favor of the guy's character; but it does provide a degree of corroboration for his claims, from a source that would have no obvious interest in corroborating a false allegation of their involvement...

    4. Re:Good Grief. by arkenian · · Score: 1

      I think it doesn't really matter whether what they did was legal or not... It really comes down to this. Even if we grant that Apple wasn't thrilled with the phone being lost... there is NO DAMN QUESTION that, being apple, if a phone is going to go missing, they want all the articles to be about how cool the phone is, not about them coming in the heavy during the retrieval.

    5. Re:Good Grief. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      No one has said the Apple Thugs didn't accompany the real cops and no one has said they didn't ask for and receive permission to search the apartment (which is certainly NOT something I would have ever allowed). Nothing you have said comes within 10 miles of supporting the contention that these Apple Thugs misrepresented themselves, we have only the word of someone who's honesty is already suspect.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  18. What if it was a Videotron (Quebecor) phone? by Hamsterdan · · Score: 1

    It's not like it would be all over TV or the papers (never mind that, someone's knocking on the door)

    --
    I've got better things to do tonight than die.
  19. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  20. The Samaritan Law by Noughmad · · Score: 1

    Why don't we have it?

    --
    PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
  21. Re:check your source by slydder · · Score: 1

    To be honest, it doesn't even matter if it's true or not. At least not in Germany

    --
    IT Admins Group: Where you decide the content
  22. Re:Oops by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

    Now I'm assuming ... they really thought the best way to do that was send hired goons to the dude's house.

    That is an assumption, and it may be true or not true, we don't know. However, it is a _fact_ that you now make this assumption, which isn't favorable for Apple. And as the chief of Apple's security, you have to try to act in a way so that people don't make that kind of assumption.

  23. I doubt it's the real reason by Quila · · Score: 1

    Scott Forstall was the guy who convinced Jobs to let his engineers walk around with iPhone prototypes, and he just got a million-share carrot to stay with Apple until 2016.

  24. Re:Will the police help me if I lose my cell phone by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

    Excellent. All we need to do is be successful in making cell phones, thus our prototype phone becomes worth millions instead of a couple of hundred, then it's suddenly much more important!

    FTFY. Seriously why does Apple hate have such a negative impact on IQs?

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  25. Re:Lululemon-Apple murder by milkmage · · Score: 1

    wait, you think the VP of Security for Apple is somehow supposed to be aware of a street crime 3000 miles away from Cupertino?

    citizens are under no (legal) obligation to report a crime or intervene in any way. if you SAW a murder, you're under no obligation to even cooperate with the authorities unless you're served a subpoena.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misprision_of_felony
    With the development of the modern law, this crime has been discarded in many jurisdictions, and is generally only applied against persons placed in a special position of authority or responsibility. In this case, the offence of misfeasance in public office or malfeasance in public office may be considered instead. For example, corrections officers who stand idly by while drug trafficking occurs within the prison may be prosecuted for this crime.

    he stepped down because it was bad PR.