War with IT Tipsters... Apple’s Efforts to Uncover Chinese Intelligence Agents

IT Specialist Media Vice Reports
Chinese Apple Legal Representative Sends Warning Letter

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Apple is going all out to identify informants both inside and outside the United States, including in China, in its war against IT tipsters who share information about unreleased products.

According to IT media Vice on the 28th (local time), Fangda Partners, Apple's legal representative in China, sent a warning letter on the 18th to a Chinese citizen who posted images of a stolen Apple prototype (the original form of a product before the prototype stage) on social media. The letter set a deadline for a response within 14 days.

Apple reportedly stated in the letter that the individual had deliberately infringed on trade secrets by unauthorized disclosure of a large amount of information related to Apple's unreleased products. Apple requested the cessation of acquisition, advertising, and sales of the devices and also asked for the disclosure of the identity of the employee who secretly leaked the product. Currently, employees of Apple's Chinese subsidiary or Foxconn, Apple's contract manufacturer in Taiwan, are considered the most likely suspects.

According to Vice, there is a gray market in China that specializes in leaking Apple's prototype products and selling them to IT tipsters. Through this channel, famous IT tipsters receive information and share it on their social network service (SNS) accounts in the form of rendering images.

Apple has been making continuous efforts since June to identify individual leakers outside the United States. This warning letter is also seen as part of those follow-up measures. Vice evaluated, "Although many of these letters appear to have been sent about a month ago, it has become clearer that Apple is fiercely and extensively attempting to identify leakers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.