Apple CEO Tim Cook in Leaked Memo: 'We Are Doing Everything in Our Power' to Identify Leakers

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned employees about leaking company information, in a leaked memo seen by The Verge.

Last week, discussions from a private all-hands town hall meeting were leaked to the press, revealing the company's stances on issues such as working from home and the Apple vs. Epic legal battle going forwards.

Last night, Cook emailed employees to address the contents of that meeting being leaked, admonishing those who revealed the details of the discussions to the press, but now that email has also been leaked to The Verge. The internal email sent by Cook reads:

Dear Team,

It was great to connect with you at the global employee meeting on Friday. There was much to celebrate, from our remarkable new product line-up to our values driven work around climate change, racial equity, and privacy. It was a good opportunity to reflect on our many accomplishments and to have a discussion about what’s been on your mind.

I'm writing today because I've heard from so many of you were incredibly frustrated to see the contents of the meeting leak to reporters. This comes after a product launch in which most of the details of our announcements were also leaked to the press.

I want you to know that I share your frustration. These opportunities to connect as a team are really important. But they only work if we can trust that the content will stay within Apple. I want to reassure you that we are doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked. As you know, we do not tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it's product IP or the details of a confidential meeting. We know that the leakers constitute a small number of people. We also know that people who leak confidential information do not belong here.

As we look forward, I want to thank you for all you've done to make our products a reality and all you will do to get them into customers' hands. Yesterday we released iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, and Friday marks the moment when we share some of our incredible new products with the world. There's nothing better than that. We'll continue to measure our contributions in the lives we change, the connections we foster, and the work we do to leave the world a better place.

Thank you,

Tim

Most notably, Cook tied the leak of the contents of Friday's meeting to the leak of "product IP" and "a product launch in which most of the details of our announcements were also leaked to the press," referring to the company's recent "California Streaming" event that saw the unveiling of the iPhone 13 lineup, Apple Watch Series 7, and sixth-generation iPad mini.

The ramped-up rhetoric appears to be in line with a wider crackdown on leaks in recent months, which have seen various Apple leakers be tracked down and hit with stern warnings from lawyers. This ongoing struggle shows no sign of abating with Cook assuring, "we are doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked" and those who do "do not belong here."

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook in Leaked Memo: 'We Are Doing Everything in Our Power' to Identify Leakers

 

[kstotlani]

Who leaked the memo? Best leaker ever.

 

[MacModMachine]

the look on his face....

 

[DFZD]

Leaks are an internal job. In fact they are part of the marketing strategy at this point.

Apple is only refining technologies that are at least 4-5 years old for Android OEMs.

So there's no reason to believe that anyone stands to gain from these leaks other than Apple themselves.

 

[Schranke]

Who leaked the memo? Best leaker ever.

Some one at apple has a sense of humor 🤣🤣🤣

 

[VulchR]

Not so nice to have your privacy violated, is it Tim? Perhaps though there should be monitoring of internal Apple communications on the off chance that there might be a crime.

 

[Sciomar]

Well that's not going as planned...

 

[Hoyboy]

Oh the irony

 

[DFZD]

the look on his face....

The tie doesn't go with the blazer. This is why Tim never cared about matching colors of different panels on Apple devices.

 

[jarman92]

I still think the whole "Watch will have flat sides" fiasco was a ploy by Apple to catch leakers...it's really the only theory that makes sense.

 

[EW800]

Bet Timmy is even more pissed now!! 🤣

 

[pilotpat]

Tim Apple Angry!!!

 

[TroyBoy30]

oh timmy

 

[Sasparilla]

Apple execs probably need to take a step back and evaluate how this looks from their customers perspective (its great to have secrets and surprises of course).

Because if the company comes off looking like the Empire ensuring those secrets for a few months - its probably not a good choice, as it will damage your brand far worse than details getting out early.

 

[I7guy]

Leaks are an internal job. In fact they are part of the marketing strategy at this point.

Apple believes otherwise.

Apple is only refining technologies that are at least 4-5 years old for Android OEMs.

Yup. The innovate the heck out of the technologies and come up with a gee-whiz type of feature.

So there's no reason to believe that anyone stands to gain from these leaks other than Apple themselves.

Tim Cook says otherwise.

 

[collin_]

Who leaked the memo? Best leaker ever.

Idk but they’re a legend

 

[Cheruman]

That feeling after hearing Universal Control has been postponed until iOS 16

 

[Populus]

I think most of this leakers are on the hardware side of Apple’s structure. Maybe even the subsidiaries that build the actual devices, not on Apple itself. I say this because we barely see leaks about iOS, iPadOS or macOS...

 

[DFZD]

Apple believes otherwise.

Tim Cook says otherwise.

Well Tim also says that Apple removed Power Bricks for the environment.

Apple also believes slowing down phones and forcing people to upgrade frequently is good for environment.

 

[Populus]

That feeling after hearing Universal Control has been postponed until iOS 16

Who said that??

 

[anthogag]

It could be the guy delivering water for the coolers.

 

[genovelle]

I still think the whole "Watch will have flat sides" fiasco was a ploy by Apple to catch leakers...it's really the only theory that makes sense.

What would be equally awesome is if this email had hundreds of variations sent to different people to close in on the leaker. If a bunch of employees were like what memo? I didn’t get a memo. The leaker would be freaking out about now.

 

[MVMNT]

A little too ironic, this.

 

[BarredOwl]

Godspeed, leakers. Apple has a toxic culture that deserves to see the light of day.

 

[Rogifan]

These leakers seem to love the Verge. It’s kind of amazing Apple can’t find out who they are.