Apple Files Lawsuit Against Former Employee Over Alleged Unauthorised Access to Confidential Data

Apple has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, alleging that he gained unauthorised access to the company’s internal systems after leaving the organisation and downloaded confidential files.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the former employee, identified as Chang Liu, allegedly accessed Apple’s internal systems weeks after his employment ended by exploiting what the company described as an authentication vulnerability.

Apple alleges that Liu downloaded confidential engineering documents, including information related to unreleased products, technical specifications and internal project materials. The company stated that it has since addressed the identified security vulnerability and disabled the former employee’s access after detecting the alleged activity.

The complaint further alleges that Liu retained an Apple-issued laptop after leaving the company and continued accessing internal network resources. Apple also claims that he used the work laptop of another Apple employee, who later joined OpenAI, to access company systems while that employee was still employed.

According to the lawsuit, Apple identified the alleged unauthorised access through server logs and stated that it found no evidence that the same security vulnerability had been exploited by others.

The company has also alleged that the former employee did not report the identified security flaw or return company property in accordance with his employment obligations. Apple is seeking a jury trial and pursuing claims related to the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and unauthorised access to confidential information.

OpenAI is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, and the complaint does not allege any wrongdoing by the company. OpenAI has previously stated that it does not seek or encourage the acquisition of competitors’ confidential or proprietary information.

The allegations contained in Apple’s complaint have not been tested in court, and the case remains pending.