Apple's 'Secrecy' War on Information Leaks... Tim Cook Issues Another Warning

IT Media The Verge Email Quotation Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Apple, which strictly adheres to 'secrecy,' is raising the level of warnings against those who leak confidential information. Recently, detailed information about the 'iPhone 13' as well as meeting details were fully disclosed, prompting CEO Tim Cook to issue an official warning message.

According to IT media The Verge on the 22nd (local time), Tim Cook stated in a company-wide email on the 21st, "We are doing everything we can to identify those who leaked information," and added, "Those who leak confidential information are not part of Apple." He expressed discomfort over the fact that details mentioned at the Apple global employee meeting on the 17th were immediately disclosed to the media.

Since the era of former CEO Steve Jobs, Apple's mystique has been an element that made the iPhone even more attractive. Tim Cook said, "We do not tolerate the disclosure of information, whether it is product intellectual property (IP) or details of confidential meetings. We know that the leakers are a small number of people," indicating a strict response.

Apple has repeatedly sent direct and indirect warning messages to IT tipsters. In 2017, it took action by dismissing as many as 29 leakers, 12 of whom were actually arrested. In June of this year, a Chinese Weibo user named 'Kang' revealed that he received a warning letter from Apple's legal representatives. Despite these efforts, rumors about the iPhone 13 and even the upcoming 'iPhone 14' leaked ahead of Apple's annual event, the 'Apple Special Event.'

Samsung Electronics unveiled the foldable smartphones 'Galaxy Z Fold3' and 'Galaxy Z Flip3' at 'Galaxy Unpacked 2021.' On the 12th, customers visiting the Samsung Delight Shop in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are seen exploring the new products. The newly released products will be available for pre-order in Korea from the 17th to the 23rd and are scheduled for sequential global release on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Samsung is also struggling with information leaks. In August, about a week before the 'Galaxy Unpacked' event, most information about the foldable smartphone 'Galaxy Z Flip3' and the smartwatch 'Galaxy Watch' was disclosed, leading to criticism that the excitement was "deflated." Ahead of the Z Flip3 launch in July, Samsung directly cracked down on rendering images and videos, but it was insufficient to prevent last-minute leaks. IT tipster Max Jambor tweeted, "Samsung Electronics has taken copyright enforcement measures to prevent leaks of images or videos related to unreleased products."

However, some argue that companies may deliberately leak information as a marketing strategy. Although leaks are generally fatal because they disperse market interest before the announcement, IT tipsters can also drive attention to the event itself. It is a kind of 'word-of-mouth strategy' through social media. An industry insider said, "From a company's perspective, this is the result of astronomical R&D costs over many years, so it would be a waste. They probably have many concerns because the benefits gained from leaks are not significant."

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