Apple has filed a lawsuit against former engineer Andrew Adude. Apple asserts that over a five-year period, Mr. Aude leaked information about more than a half-dozen different Apple policies and products including (in his own words) “top secret” information without authorization to do so. Below is the full "Introduction" to the lawsuit:

"Apple is a world-renowned technology company and global leader in consumer electronics, mobile communications, and computing. With over 80,000 employees in the U.S. alone, Apple invests billions of dollars on research and development each year. The results of Apple’s creative labors—which include Mac, iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro—inspire and delight over a billion users around the globe.

Mr. Aude, a former Apple employee, was a highly compensated engineer who  joined Apple after graduating from college in 2016. At the start of his relationship with Apple, Mr. Aude signed an Intellectual Property Agreement (IPA) in which he agreed not to disclose Apple confidential information to non-Apple employees, both during and after his employment.

Despite his contractual and other legal obligations, Mr. Aude repeatedly flouted his promise to keep Apple’s information confidential. In clear violation of his IPA, Mr. Aude leaked highly sensitive information about Apple’s business practices, internal policies, and  products—including those not yet released—with employees at other technology companies and at least three national journalists

Over a five-year period, Mr. Aude leaked information about more than a half-dozen different Apple policies and products including (in his own words) “top secret” information without authorization to do so. The “leaked” Apple information included: details of an unannounced app; strategies for regulatory compliance; product hardware characteristics; research and development efforts in the spatial computing space; product development policies; and even corporate and department headcount.

Mr. Aude leaked Apple confidential information using his Apple-issued work iPhone—including via texts, encrypted messages, and phone calls. Between June and September 2023 alone, Mr. Aude connected with a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist, whom Mr. Aude codenamed “Homeboy,” over 1,400 times using an encrypted messaging app. Mr. Aude also read “Homeboy” a final feature list for an unannounced Apple product over the phone. Mr. Aude sent another journalist at The Information over 10,000 text messages and traveled across the continent to meet with her.

Mr. Aude’s leaks were no accident. In connection with one leak, Mr. Aude admitted that he violated his obligations to Apple so he could “kill” products and features with which he took issue. As his frequent Google searches, article shares, and screenshots saved to his Apple-issued work iPhone reveal, vanity and personal enjoyment of the media’s attention also  played a significant role in his malfeasance. In Mr. Aude’s screenshot below memorializing his exchange with the WSJ journalist, Mr. Aude exclaimed that he could not “wait for chaos to break out” in reaction to a forthcoming article reflecting his leaked information.

He also proclaimed, '[I] love when I get to leak to my WSJ friend.' Attempting to  justify his actions to others, he explained that he intended to '[expletive] with policy and [the]  press.' Mr. Aude did all this while purporting to work for Apple and promote Apple’s interests,  but his actions demonstrated the opposite.

Apple learned of Mr. Aude’s misconduct in the fall of 2023. When Apple met with him to discuss his improper disclosures, Mr. Aude promptly confirmed his guilt through his actions, if not his words. At the start of his November 7, 2023 interview, Mr. Aude repeatedly denied that he had leaked any information to anyone. He also claimed that he did not have his Apple-issued work iPhone with him. Feigning the need to visit the bathroom mid-interview, Mr. Aude then extracted his iPhone from his pocket during the break and permanently deleted significant amounts of evidence from his device. This included the Signal app, which memorialized his history of leaking information to 'Homeboy' (and likely others) via encrypted communications. 9.

Mr. Aude finally came partially clean on December 12, 2023, when Apple confronted him about his deletion of the Signal app from his iPhone. During this follow-up interview, however, Mr. Aude offered only narrow admissions limited to the information he had not been able to destroy.

Apple has since terminated Mr. Aude for misconduct. At no time has Mr. Aude shown remorse for his violations of his IPA or disclosure of Apple’s proprietary information, whether before his termination or after.

Apple does not bring suit against its former employees lightly. As a result of Mr. Aude’s willful destruction of evidence, however, Apple cannot know the universe of what he disclosed to whom and when. Before filing this lawsuit, Apple reached out to Mr. Aude to  potentially resolve this matter. Over a month ago, Apple contacted Mr. Aude to understand the full scope of his leaks and ask for his full cooperation in resolving this matter without litigation. Mr. Aude, however, did not commit to cooperating.

Mr. Aude’s pattern of disclosing Apple’s highly sensitive information to others— wantonly, without regard for his legal or contractual obligations, and for the specific purpose of

harming Apple—and his ongoing knowledge of Apple’s confidential and proprietary information create a significant risk that the disclosures will continue. Mr. Aude’s pervasive misconduct demands that Apple act to protect its most sensitive information, which is fundamental to its ability to innovate and make products that delight and inspire others.

In addition to the information he shared with his friends at other technology companies, Mr. Aude’s leaks resulted in the publication of multiple news articles discussing Apple’s confidential and proprietary information. These disclosures have harmed Apple with respect to its competitors—who are advantaged by knowing more about Apple’s policies, product roadmap, and strategy. His disclosures also have impeded Apple’s ability to surprise and delight with its new offerings.

Apple therefore brings this lawsuit to prevent Mr. Aude from further violating his contractual obligations to Apple and for damages arising from his misconduct."

You could review Apple's full court filing here, courtesy of MacRumors. The case makes you wonder if they're still looking for the leaker behind Bloomberg's Mark Gurman who supplies extraordinary details on an ongoing basis. Patently Apple has reported on many of Gurman's leaks as has the entire Apple News community.

Side Note: Our cover image is from a GTC article by Artura Vaznys titled "Confidential information is one of your most important company assets. So protect it!"