Apple Secrecy Is Alive and Well, As This LEAKED Recording Shows
Apple secrecy is real.
Secrecy is in Apple’s DNA to the point where it hires former members of the U.S. intelligence community for its global security team. This is just one of the findings of a recently leaked recording for an Apple briefing titled “Stopping Leakers – Keeping Confidential at Apple,” according to The Outline.
To keep product details secret, the iPhone maker employs former members of the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. military. In doing so, the Apple Global Security team hopes to prevent product information from reaching competitors, counterfeiters, and the press.
These also like to “hunt down the source when leaks do occur.”
The recorded hour-long presentation was hosted by Apple’s Director of Global Security David Rice, Director of Worldwide Investigations Lee Freedman, and Jenny Hubbert, who works on the Global Security communications and training team.
You can hear more about the leak via The Outline World Dispatch podcast.
As someone who has covered Apple for a long time, I can appreciate the company’s desire for secrecy. However, I also know it picks and chooses its battles carefully and often uses leaks to promote an upcoming product.
The Apple Watch reveal, for example, caught everyone by surprise when the wearable device was first announced in September 2014. The industry knew an “iWatch” was coming, of course, but until then no one knew what it would look like. That secrecy was an important part of the Apple Watch’s long rollout.
By contrast, I think Apple’s been largely okay with seeing the constant parade of “iPhone 8” leaks in recent months. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of these have come from the company and with good reason.
This year’s handset will be the 10th anniversary iPhone, a fact that isn’t lost on Apple or its customers. Leaks just add to the narrative that this year’s model is a big deal.
The Outline report is definitely worth a read if you want to know more about Apple secrecy. It’s also ironic. This is a leaked recording of an Apple presentation on secrecy, after all.
