Apple Inc. Warns its Employees about Leaking Information

Apple Inc. has warned its employees to stop leaking internal information of the company’s future plans. It also raised the specter of possible legal action and criminal charges, which is one of the most-aggressive moves of Apple to control information about its activities.

According to the lengthy memo of the Cupertino, California-based company, Apple has “caught 29 leakers,” in 2017 and highlighted that 12 of those were arrested.

“These people not only lose their jobs, they can face extreme difficulty finding employment elsewhere,” stated the company.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest technology company did not give any comment.

Apple has outlined situations wherein information was leaked to the media, such as the meeting earlier this year where Craig Federighi, Apple’s software engineering head, announced to the employees of the company that the planned iPhone software features would be delayed.

The company also cited a yet-to-be-released software package that revealed details about the unreleased iPhone X and new Apple Watch.

Leaked information about latest products can negatively impact the sales of the current models. This also gives its rivals more time to start on a competitive response, and can result into fewer sales when the new product launches.

“We want the chance to tell our customers why the product is great, and not have that done poorly by someone else,” said Greg Joswiak, an Apple product marketing executive.

Meanwhile, the crackdown is part of the broader and long-running attempts of Silicon Valley technology companies to keep track and limit what information their workers share publicly.

Firms like Google and Facebook, on the other hand, are open with their employees about their plans. But they keep close tabs on their outside communications and sometime they fire people when they catch leaks.

Apple is very secretive about the development of its products. Back in 2012, Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, promised to double down on keeping the work of the company under wraps.

Last year, the company held a confidential meeting with its employees in another bid to stop leaks. After that meeting, publications released details about the iPhone X, a new Apple TV video-streaming box, an Apple Watch with LTE, new iPad models, and other new products.

Apple Extends Apple Watch Warranties

Apple will be repairing some Apple Watch series 2 devices that suffer from defects, such as swollen batteries and an inability to activate.

According to the internal document sent to Apple Stores and licensed repair shops, the company as “determined that under certain conditions, some Apple Watch Series 2 devices may not power on or they may experience an expanded battery.”

It also added that “Apple will service eligible devices free of charge” and “authorize coverage for eligible devices for three years after the original date of purchase.”

Apple will be extending the default-limited warranty to another two years for the affected watches.

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