Apple today filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former employee who allegedly used his position at the company to steal “sensitive trade secret information” from Apple, which was later leaked to a journalist and published in rumors. .
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Lancaster worked at Apple for more than a decade, using his seniority to attend internal meetings and access documents that Apple says are “outside the scope of his job responsibilities.” The details he obtained were published in media articles that “quoted a” source “from Apple.”
In exchange for the information disclosed, Lancaster asked the media he was in contact with for favors, such as ensuring favorable coverage of a start-up company in which Lancaster had invested.
Until November 1, 2019, Lancaster was hired as an advanced architect in materials and product design, involved in several hardware projects. Its role was to evaluate materials and prototyping innovations for future hardware devices. He began revealing media contact details on November 29, 2018 through text messages, emails and phone calls.
After resigning from Apple, Lancaster “deepened” his relationship with the media correspondent he was talking to, and Apple’s internal investigation into Apple-owned devices that Lancaster returned after hiring suggested he communicated about “Certain Apple trade secrets” while taking “certain steps” to search for additional information. In its last day, Lancaster downloaded a “substantial number” of confidential Apple documents.
Moreover, the forensic review of the devices provided by Apple Lancaster for his work at Apple shows Lancaster and the correspondent coordinated to throw specific documents and product information from Apple. On numerous occasions, the correspondent had asked Lancaster to obtain documents and trade secrets specific to Apple. On several occasions, Lancaster sent the correspondent certain confidential materials requested using devices owned by Apple. On other occasions, Lancaster personally met with the correspondent to provide them with the confidential information requested by Apple.
According to Apple, the information Lancaster shared included details of “unreleased Apple hardware products, unannounced changes to existing hardware product features, and future product announcements.” It has also taken on a new role at Arris Composites, a vendor that serves under Apple, and Apple says it has accessed confidential information that would help Arris, in addition to leaking Apple documents to the media.
Apple does not provide details on the products that were released by Lancaster, but many of the leaks took place in October and November 2019 and looked at what Apple calls “Project X”. Immediately after Lancaster left, in fact, he spoke to the journalist that he revealed details to him, congratulating the person for the success of an article that contained details that he revealed.
Like all Apple employees, Lancaster signed a “Privacy and Intellectual Property Agreement” before being hired by Apple, which prohibits them from sharing secret and proprietary information, plus participating in “security training” and “Conduct in business” events focused on preventing the theft of secrets. documents.
Apple is now seeking compensation that was incurred as a result of the trade secrets stolen by Lancaster, and Apple intends to set the amount at trial. Apple also wants to recover from Lancaster all the gains, profits and benefits it has gained from document theft.
The first lawsuit was split by AppleInsider In this afternoon. I’ve included the full document below and it’s a fascinating read that covers the culture of leaks in Apple and the lengths the company will go to to end it.