Apple sued former employee Andrew Aude in California state court this month, alleging he breached a nondisclosure agreement and violated labor laws by leaking sensitive information to the media and employees at other technology companies. Apple has requested a jury trial and is seeking damages in excess of $25,000.
Aude joined Apple as an iOS software engineer in 2016, shortly after graduating college. He was working to optimize battery performance, which made him “privileged with information about dozens of Apple’s most sensitive projects,” according to the complaint.
Leakage
The lawsuit alleges that over a five-year period, Aude used his Apple-issued work iPhone to leak information about more than half a dozen Apple products and policies, including the then-unannounced Journal app and Vision Pro headphones, product development policies, regulatory compliance strategies , number of employees and much more.
For example, in April 2023, Apple claims that Aude told a reporter on The Wall Street Journal on a phone call. In the same month, The Wall Street JournalAaron Tilley published a report titled “Apple Plans iPhone Diary App in Expanding Health Initiatives.”
Using the encrypted messaging app Signal, Aude allegedly sent “over 1,400” messages to the same reporter, whom Aude referred to as “Homeboy.” He is also accused of sending “more than 10,000 text messages” to another journalist on the website Informationand he allegedly traveled “across the continent” to meet her.
Screenshot included in lawsuitOther leaks relate to Vision Pro and other hardware:
As another example, an October 2020 screenshot of Mr. Aude’s Apple-issued work iPhone shows that he disclosed Apple’s product development within the spatial computing space to a non-Apple employee. Mr. Aude revealed this even though Apple’s development efforts were confidential and not known to the public. Over the following months, Mr. Aude disclosed additional Apple confidential information—including information about unannounced products and information about hardware.
Apple believes Aude’s actions were “extensive and purposeful,” with Aude reportedly admitting to leaking information so he could “kill” products and features he was protesting. The company claims its misrepresentation resulted in at least five newspaper articles discussing the company’s confidential and proprietary information. Apple says these public revelations have hindered its ability to “surprise and delight” with its latest products.
Apple reveals
Apple said it learned of Aude’s misrepresentations in late 2023, and the company fired him for his alleged misconduct in December of that year.
In a November 2023 interview, Apple claims that Aude denied giving anyone confidential information. However, during that interview, Apple claims Aude went to the bathroom and deleted “significant amounts of evidence” from his work iPhone, including the Signal app he used to communicate with “Homeboy.”
During a follow-up interview in December 2023, Apple claims that Aude admitted to some of his misrepresentations, but claims that he only made “narrow admissions limited to information he was unable to destroy.”
Apple tried to settle the matter out of court, but said Aude was uncooperative:
Apple does not take its former employees lightly. However, as a result of Mr. Aude’s deliberate destruction of evidence, Apple cannot know everything he disclosed to whom and when. Prior to filing this lawsuit, Apple contacted Mr. Aude to potentially resolve this issue. More than a month ago, Apple contacted Mr. Aude to understand the full extent of his leaks and to request his full cooperation in resolving the matter without litigation. Mr. Aude, however, did not commit to cooperation.
Aude also reportedly refused to sell the restricted Apple stock he received as part of his compensation package.
Apple said Aude poses an “enduring threat” to the company because of his “long and extensive history of intentional and unauthorized disclosures to third parties, his ongoing relationships with individuals at other technology companies and the press, and his attempts to cover up his misconduct.”
Apple is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial, as well as other remedies.
You can view the entire complaint in this PDF file.