Apple sues OpenAI: Confidential data stolen

A serious legal dispute has emerged between two giants of the technology world: Apple and OpenAI. Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, a leader in the field of AI, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets and illegally obtaining confidential information. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI obtained critical technical documents regarding unannounced products by poaching former Apple employees. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports.

Documents submitted by Apple state that after former systems engineer Chang Liu left the company, he downloaded confidential files by exploiting a rare and previously unknown bug in the Apple network. This vulnerability falls into the "zero-day" category, meaning the former employee managed to exploit it for malicious purposes before Apple engineers could fix it.

Confidential projects and technical theft

According to TechCrunch, Chang Liu remained connected to the Apple network for several weeks after starting his job at OpenAI. He misappropriated dozens of hardware-related documents, including engineering presentations, technical specifications, and project data for products that have not yet hit the market. An audit of Apple server logs revealed that only Liu had exploited this vulnerability.

The lawsuit also claims that Liu not only exploited a system bug but also gained unauthorized access to the work laptop of his acquaintance, Yu-Ting Peng, who was still an Apple employee at the time. Peng later left Apple and joined the OpenAI team. This situation is being assessed as a systematic attempt by OpenAI to collect Apple's internal data.

According to Apple representatives, the former employee did not return his assigned work laptop and attempted to use it to access the company's cloud storage. In February 2024, it was recorded that Liu repeatedly attempted to access Apple's internal network, where engineering files and project documents are stored.

Vulnerabilities in security systems

This incident once again demonstrates how difficult it is for large technology corporations to ensure data security during the employee offboarding process. Typically, all access permissions must be revoked as soon as an employee is terminated. However, the risk of confidential information falling into the wrong hands due to unexpected software bugs or human error always remains.

Apple has stated that it has now fully patched this vulnerability and closed all unauthorized access points. OpenAI has not yet provided an official response to these allegations. This legal process is expected to have a serious impact not only on the relationship between the two companies but also on talent mobility and intellectual property protection rules throughout Silicon Valley.