Apple says former employee exploited ‘rare’ bug to download confidential files after leaving for OpenAI
Apple is suing OpenAI, alleging that a former employee exploited a zero-day vulnerability to steal confidential hardware data after joining the competitor. Apple claims the breach was isolated to this individual, though it highlights broader risks regarding data security and departing employees.
Why it matters
This case underscores the growing legal and security tensions between major AI developers and the potential for intellectual property theft during high-stakes talent migration.
On Friday, Apple dropped the bombshell news it was suing OpenAI over the alleged theft of trade secrets , claiming that OpenAI stole Apple’s confidential data and engaged in efforts to learn proprietary information while recruiting former Apple employees.
In accusing OpenAI of stealing secrets about Apple’s unreleased products, Apple revealed that a former employee allegedly siphoned reams of sensitive files from the company’s shared network folders, weeks after leaving Apple for a job at OpenAI.
In its complaint , Apple says the former employee, a system electrical engineer named Chang Liu, allegedly “exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug” that allowed access to the company’s network. The bug is classified as a zero-day vulnerability , meaning that Apple had no time to fix it before it was allegedly exploited.
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