Last March, Apple sued one of its iOS Software Engineers for leaking confidential information to The Wall Street Journal and The Information. At the time, Andrew Aude shared details on the Journal app and the Apple Vision Pro with these publications. Almost a year after Apple filed the lawsuit, the case was dismissed, and the engineer apologized.
At the time, Apple accused Aude of leaking “information about more than a half-dozen different Apple policies and products.” In the lawsuit filed in California, the company wrote: “Mr. Aude often took and saved screenshots of his communications on his Apple-issued work iPhone to preserve them for posterity. (…) As noted, according to data from his Apple-issued work iPhone, Mr. Aude had over 1,400 encrypted communications with a single MSJ journalist over a single four-month period. He also sent another journalist at The Information over 10,000 text messages from his Apple-issued work iPhone and traveled across the continent to meet with her.”
Now, as noted by 9to5Mac, Apple dismissed the case following a settlement agreement being reached. The former Apple engineer also issued an apology on X.
Here’s what he wrote: “I spent nearly eight years as a software engineer at Apple. During that time, I was given access to sensitive internal Apple information, including what were then unreleased products and features. But instead of keeping this information secret, I made the mistake of sharing this information with journalists who covered the company. I did not realize it at the time, but this turned out to be a profound and expensive mistake. Hundreds of professional relationships I had spent years building were ruined. And my otherwise successful career as a software engineer was derailed, and it will likely be very difficult to rebuild it. Leaking was not worth it. I sincerely apologize to my former colleagues who not only worked tirelessly on projects for Apple but worked hard to keep them secret. They deserved better.”
I spent nearly eight years as a software engineer at Apple. During that time, I was given access to sensitive internal Apple information, including what were then unreleased products and features. But instead of keeping this information secret, I made the mistake of sharing this…
— Andy Aude (@andyaude1) February 6, 2025
The settlement details are unclear. BGR will let you know if we learn more about it.
The post Apple leaker apologizes for sharing confidential information as lawsuit is dismissed appeared first on BGR.
