Apple Lawsuit Exposes Enterprise Data Risks During Employee Offboarding

Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI announced Friday (July 10) includes allegations that highlight the importance of protecting corporate data when employees leave, TechCrunch reported Monday (July 13).

The lawsuit includes allegations that a former employee who went to work for OpenAI exploited an authentication bug to access the company’s network after leaving Apple. It does not describe the nature of the bug, according to the report.

The company said that it fixed the bug upon learning about it and that only the one former employee exploited the bug when it was active, per the report.

Apple alleged that the former employee failed to return an Apple-issued laptop when leaving the company, misused the access of an acquaintance who was an Apple employee at the time but later went to work for OpenAI, discovered the authentication bug after leaving Apple, and failed to report that bug as required by his employment agreement, according to the report.

TechCrunch reported Monday that the allegations show why companies often immediately cut off access by departing employees, as well as the risks companies face if they fail to do so completely.

It was reported Friday that Apple sued OpenAI and two former Apple employees now working at OpenAI, including the one later featured in the TechCrunch report, alleging that they stole trade secrets from Apple to support OpenAI’s development of devices.

The suit alleged that one employee emailed himself information about Apple’s suppliers and asked Apple employees to bring parts to OpenAI during job interviews; that the other employee downloaded confidential files from Apple’s network and coached an Apple employee on how to copy confidential files; and that “at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information.”

An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”

PYMNTS reported Monday that Apple’s lawsuit echoes the company’s legal battles in the 2010s against various companies making Android phones, including one legal fight that lasted eight years before the two sides reached a settlement.