The Outline recently obtained an hour-long audio recording from an internal briefing at Apple titled “Stopping Leakers – Keeping Confidential at Apple.” The presentation, held for about 100 people, was lead by three members of Apple’s Global Security division: director of global security David Rice, director of worldwide investigations Lee Freedman, and Jenny Hubbert, from the Global Security communications and training team.
As detailed by The Outline, the audio describes the lengths Apple goes to in order to keep information about new products out of the hands of leakers, competitors, and the press. The Global Security team tasked with this includes previous members from the NSA, the US military, the FBI, and the US Secret Service.
Rice speaks about the various ways workers try to steal parts, including flushing them down a toilet to collect later in a sewer and throwing them over fences. In one of the more outlandish schemes, Rice says, “We had 8,000 enclosures stolen a long time ago by women putting it in the underwire of their bra.”
“8,000 enclosures [were] stolen a long time ago by women putting it in the underwire of their bra.”
The workers are tempted by payments that can exceed what they make in several months. Rice says they’ve seen cases where up to a year’s salary has been offered in reward for stealing parts. According to a 2016 report from China Labor Watch, Apple workers on the production line make about $350 USD a month.