MacRumors

Apple recently posted a "lengthy" cautionary memo on its internal website that uses aggressive scare tactics to warn employees against leaking details about future products to the media, reports Bloomberg.

In 2017, Apple said it caught 29 leakers and that 12 of those people were arrested. "These people not only lose their jobs, they can face extreme difficulty finding employment elsewhere," the company said in the memo.

The memo details several instances where sensitive data had been leaked to the media, such as the leaked iOS 11 GM, which divulged details on the iPhone X, and meetings where Craig Federighi detailed delays to planned functionality in iOS 12 to focus on improving existing features. The employees who leaked this info were caught and fired, said Apple.

It also warns Apple employees against befriending members of the press, analysts, and bloggers and "getting played."

Apple told employees that leaking information about an unreleased product can impact sales of current models, lead to fewer sales when the product is released, and give competitors more time to mimic product features. "We want the chance to tell our customers why the product is great, and not have that done poorly by someone else," Apple's Greg Joswiak said in the memo, the full text of which is below, courtesy of Bloomberg:

Last month, Apple caught and fired the employee responsible for leaking details from an internal, confidential meeting about Apple's software roadmap. Hundreds of software engineers were in attendance, and thousands more within the organization received details of its proceedings. One person betrayed their trust.

The employee who leaked the meeting to a reporter later told Apple investigators that he did it because he thought he wouldn't be discovered. But people who leak -- whether they're Apple employees, contractors or suppliers -- do get caught and they're getting caught faster than ever.

In many cases, leakers don't set out to leak. Instead, people who work for Apple are often targeted by press, analysts and bloggers who befriend them on professional and social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and begin to pry for information. While it may seem flattering to be approached, it's important to remember that you're getting played. The success of these outsiders is measured by obtaining Apple's secrets from you and making them public. A scoop about an unreleased Apple product can generate massive traffic for a publication and financially benefit the blogger or reporter who broke it. But the Apple employee who leaks has everything to lose.

The impact of a leak goes far beyond the people who work on a project.

Leaking Apple's work undermines everyone at Apple and the years they've invested in creating Apple products. "Thousands of people work tirelessly for months to deliver each major software release," says UIKit lead Josh Shaffer, whose team's work was part of the iOS 11 leak last fall. "Seeing it leak is devastating for all of us."

The impact of a leak goes beyond the people who work on a particular project -- it's felt throughout the company. Leaked information about a new product can negatively impact sales of the current model; give rival companies more time to begin on a competitive response; and lead to fewer sales of that new product when it arrives. "We want the chance to tell our customers why the product is great, and not have that done poorly by someone else," says Greg Joswiak of Product Marketing.

Investments by Apple have had an enormous impact on the company's ability to identify and catch leakers. Just before last September's special event, an employee leaked a link to the gold master of iOS 11 to the press, again believing he wouldn't be caught. The unreleased OS detailed soon-to-be-announced software and hardware including iPhone X. Within days, the leaker was identified through an internal investigation and fired. Global Security's digital forensics also helped catch several employees who were feeding confidential details about new products including iPhone X, iPad Pro and AirPods to a blogger at 9to5Mac.
Last year Apple caught 29 leakers.

Leakers in the supply chain are getting caught, too. Global Security has worked hand-in-hand with suppliers to prevent theft of Apple's intellectual property as well as to identify individuals who try to exceed their access. They've also partnered with suppliers to identify vulnerabilities -- both physical and technological -- and ensure their security levels meet or exceed Apple's expectations. These programs have nearly eliminated the theft of prototypes and products from factories, caught leakers and prevented many others from leaking in the first place.

Leakers do not simply lose their jobs at Apple. In some cases, they face jail time and massive fines for network intrusion and theft of trade secrets both classified as federal crimes. In 2017, Apple caught 29 leakers. 12 of those were arrested. Among those were Apple employees, contractors and some partners in Apple's supply chain. These people not only lose their jobs, they can face extreme difficulty finding employment elsewhere. "The potential criminal consequences of leaking are real," says Tom Moyer of Global Security, "and that can become part of your personal and professional identity forever."

While they carry serious consequences, leaks are completely avoidable. They are the result of a decision by someone who may not have considered the impact of their actions. "Everyone comes to Apple to do the best work of their lives -- work that matters and contributes to what all 135,000 people in this company are doing together," says Joswiak. "The best way to honor those contributions is by not leaking."

Apple has always been an intensely private and secretive company, but as it has grown, leaks have become harder to contain, both among its own corporate employees and from its supplier partners. In 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple was going to "double down on secrecy on products," but each and every year, details on new products manage to leak out ahead of launch.

Apple last year sued an aftermarket repair shop in Norway, accusing the owner, Henrik Huseby of infringing on Apple's trademarks by using non-genuine aftermarket repair parts.

Details on the lawsuit were shared today by Motherboard, a site that has been covering "Right to Repair" efforts in the United States.

Apple started out by sending Huseby a letter demanding that he stop using aftermarket displays to repair broken devices after Norwegian customs officials seized iPhone 6 and 6s replacement screens that were addressed to him and discovered they were counterfeit.

Huseby had ordered the screens, which were "refurbished screens assembled by a third party" from Hong Kong. The displays were refurbished using genuine broken iPhone components.

Apple wanted Huseby to destroy the counterfeit displays, pay a fine of about $3566, and sign an agreement not to manufacture, import, sell, or otherwise "deal with any products that infringe Apple's trademarks." Huseby decided he would not sign Apple's settlement, instead deciding to fight it, leading Apple to sue him.

According to Norwegian news sites, Apple had five lawyers working on the case against Huseby, but he ultimately won when the court sided with him. Apple appealed the decision and Huseby is waiting to hear whether or not a court will accept the appeal.

The court decided that Norwegian law "does not prohibit a Norwegian mobile repair person from importing mobile screens from Asian manufacturers that are 100 percent compatible and completely identical to Apple's own iPhone screens, so long as Apple's trademark is not applied to the product." [...]

"It is not obvious to the court what trademark function justifies Apple's choice of imprinting the Apple logo on so many internal components," the court wrote. "Huseby is largely dependent on being able to import screens with covered up Apple logos to be able to operate in the market as a non-authorized iPhone repair technician."

"They threw all kinds of claims against me and told me the laws and acted so friendly and just wanted me to sign the letter so it would all be over," Huseby told Motherboard. I had a good lawyer that completely understood the problem, did good research, and read the law correctly."

As Motherboard points out, while the specifics of the legal case will only be relevant to Norway, the lawsuit should be of interest to other independent repair shops around the world who may face similar situations with Apple. In the U.S., for example, Apple has worked with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to seize counterfeit parts and raid independent iPhone repair shops.

It's no surprise that Apple does not want its iPhones and other devices repaired with counterfeit and inauthentic parts because it can lead to a whole slew of problems, and in fact, damage caused by such repairs can void a device's warranty.

Some repair shops don't want to pay Apple's fees or submit to Apple's restrictions to become an Apple Authorized Service Provider, however, which is the only way to receive genuine replacement parts. This dispute between Apple and independent repair shops is at the heart of the "Right to Repair" legislation that Apple is lobbying against in several states.

Apple may also be disabling certain iPhone features after repairs are done by aftermarket shops, even when using genuine parts. Earlier this week, a report suggested iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus display repairs disable the ambient light sensor on the devices, preventing the device's auto brightness features from working. It's still not clear if this is a bug or intentional, as Apple has not commented.

On Monday, Apple introduced new (PRODUCT)RED models of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which went up for pre-order on Tuesday and are available to purchase in Apple Stores as of today. Since it's an Apple product launch day, customers interested in the new iPhone 8 color can visit Apple.com to check stock at their local Apple stores and arrange for an in-store pickup on the smartphone.

Apple's iPhone availability tool shows that the new (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus devices should be easy to obtain today at most Apple stores across the United States and in other countries, in both 64GB and 256GB. Those who don't feel like picking up at an Apple store, or who don't live nearby one, can also choose to have the iPhone delivered via free next day shipping.

The unlocked/SIM-free prices of each new model can be found below:

• iPhone 8 / 64GB: $699
• iPhone 8 / 256GB: $849
• iPhone 8 Plus / 64GB: $799
• iPhone 8 Plus / 256GB: $949

The (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 has all of the same internals and hardware as the models that launched last September, including a glass body for wireless charging, A11 processor, True Tone display, and more. In the box, you'll get EarPods with a Lightning Connector, Lightning to USB cable, 5W USB power adapter, and a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter.

The new iPhone 8 models are available in stores as of today in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. Later this month, the devices will arrive in Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, and other countries. Chile, Colombia, India, Israel, and Turkey will follow in May.

Alongside the new iPhone 8, Apple also launched a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone X Leather Folio at $99. As with every (PRODUCT)RED accessory and device, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X Leather Folio are part of Apple's partnership with (RED), which helps raise money for The Global Fund in its fight against HIV/AIDS.

HomePod shipments "could be far below market expectations" this year, according to reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

"Our understanding is that the market expects HomePod shipments to arrive at 5-10 million units in the 2018 fiscal year, versus our forecast of only 2.0-2.5 million units," wrote Kuo, in a research note obtained by MacRumors.

Kuo believes the "major miss" in HomePod shipments could be attributable to the speaker's design and pricing, among other factors.

For starters, at $349, he said the HomePod's high price "could undermine demand despite excellent sound quality." He added that Siri provides an "uninspiring user experience" compared to competitors, presumably including the Amazon Echo with Alexa and the Google Home with Google Assistant.

Kuo said the HomePod's potentially lackluster sales highlights "underlying concerns" in Apple's development of artificial intelligence.

It's been six years since Apple introduced Siri to the market, which was way ahead of the firm's major competitors. The massive population of iOS and macOS users is also conducive to the promotion of the voice assistant function. However, we note that for most users worldwide, Siri is not a must-have function, and Apple has not yet become a leading brand in the AI voice assistant market. We also note that HomePod has not added support for new languages in the device since launch, suggesting Apple is facing challenges in AI/voice assistant development spanning the globe; this will cap the shipments momentum of HomePod.

The oft-accurate analyst said Apple is "mulling" a "low-cost version" of the HomePod that may help short-term shipments. However, even if the product materializes, he predicts it will only provide a short-term boost to sales.

More importantly, Kuo believes Apple needs to improve Siri, support more languages, and make other improvements to the HomePod to stay competitive against Amazon and Google in the smart speaker market. Premium audio quality alone may not be enough for customers to justify dropping $349 on the speaker.

Kuo's research on potentially lower-than-expected HomePod shipments echoes similar reports from Bloomberg News and the China Times earlier this week. Rumors about a lower-priced HomePod have also surfaced a few times in recent months, with one report suggesting a $150-$200 price in the United States.

Apple released the HomePod in early February in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and it also confirmed availability in France and Germany later this spring. AirPlay 2 features such as stereo sound and multi-room audio won't be available until later this year, according to Apple.

New vehicle owners who have purchased a car that's equipped with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are satisfied with the system and are increasingly relying on it for all in-car tasks, according to a new report released today by Strategy Analytics.

In a survey querying new vehicle owners that have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto installed in their vehicles, Strategy Analytics found that 34 percent of CarPlay owners rely on CarPlay for all of their audio infotainment needs, while 27 percent of Android Auto users use the Android platform exclusively for audio infotainment.

32 percent of CarPlay users and 33 percent of Android Auto users rely on those systems for all of their navigation needs, with CarPlay's slightly lower number here likely attributable to customers who continued to be unsatisfied with Apple Maps compared to other mapping apps like Google Maps or Waze.

Speech recognition usage is said to be "strong" across both sets of users, with CarPlay owners taking advantage of Siri for hands-free tasks while driving.

Overall, more than 85 percent of CarPlay and Android Auto users are "somewhat or very satisfied" with their system, and more than 90 percent are likely to recommend those systems to others.

In a similar report from October, Strategy Analytics learned that CarPlay is becoming an increasingly important feature that consumers look for when purchasing a vehicle.

In the United States, for example, 23 percent of respondents said that CarPlay was a "must have" feature for a new car, while another 56 percent said they were "interested" in vehicles equipped with CarPlay.

While CarPlay has been available since 2015, car manufacturers did not begin widely adopting the feature until mid-2016. CarPlay is now included in many new vehicles from a wide range of manufacturers, with more than 200 vehicles on the market offering CarPlay support.

GrayShift's recently publicized "GrayKey" box designed to crack locked iPhones is seeing wide adoption among police forces and federal agencies across the United States according to a recent investigation by Motherboard.

Motherboard found that regional police forces like the Maryland State Police, the Indiana State Police, and the Miami-Dade County Police have purchased or are soon purchasing GrayKey technology, while other forces like the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department have looked into boxes and received quotes from GrayShift.

The Secret Service is also planning to purchase "at least half a dozen" GrayKey boxes for unlocking iPhones, while the State Department has already bought them and the Drug Enforcement Administration has expressed interest.

Current FBI Director Christopher Wray said in January at the International Conference on Cyber Security that law enforcement officials are facing a "Going Dark" challenge where an "enormous" number of cases rely on an electronic device. "We're increasingly unable to access that evidence, despite lawful authority to do so," said Wray.

Motherboard's investigation into GrayShift, the GrayKey iPhone unlocking boxes, and other smartphone unlocking methods suggest that is not the case. The FBI uses the going dark debate to advocate for easier access to electronic devices through backdoors, but the seemingly readily available tools like GrayKey undermine these arguments.

"It demonstrates that even state and local police do have access to this data in many situations," Matthew Green, an assistant professor and cryptographer at the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute, told Motherboard in a Twitter message. "This seems to contradict what the FBI is saying about their inability to access these phones."

"The availability and affordability of these tools undercuts law enforcement's continual assertions that they need smartphone vendors to be forced to build 'exceptional access' capabilities into their devices," Riana Pfefferkorn, cryptography fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, told Motherboard in a Twitter message.

In recent months, law enforcement officials have been quietly revisiting proposals that would require tech companies to build backdoor access into smartphones and other electronics, something Apple vehemently fought against back in 2016 following the San Bernardino shooting where the FBI attempted to order the company to provide it with a tool to crack the iPhone 5c involved in the case.

As has been previously reported, the GrayKey mentioned by Motherboard is a small, portable gray box that's equipped with dual Lightning cables. An iPhone can be plugged into one of the cables to install proprietary software that's able to guess the passcode for an iPhone in either a few hours or a few days, depending on the strength of the passcode.

Once the GrayKey software has unlocked an iPhone, it can be plugged back into the GrayKey box to download all of the data on the iPhone. GrayKey can crack the latest iPhones running modern versions of iOS, including iOS 11, providing law enforcement officials with easy access to locked iPhones for criminal investigations.

Grayshift charges $15,000 for a GrayKey box that requires internet connectivity, is geofenced to a specific location, and allows for 300 unlocks, or $30,000 for a box that requires no connection, can be used anywhere, and can unlock an unlimited number of devices.

As Motherboard points out, the technology used in the GrayKey boxes may eventually be outdated through updates to the iOS operating system, leading to periods where some versions of iOS may be difficult to access. Because of the ongoing cat and mouse game of Apple patching a vulnerability as third-party iPhone cracking services look for new methods to get into iPhones, the argument for backdoors into smartphones is likely to surface time and time again.

Motherboard's full report on the iPhone unlocking tools available to law enforcement officials can be viewed over on the website.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Starting tomorrow, the major credit card companies in the United States are officially eliminating the signature requirement for purchases, marking an end to a long running but increasingly unnecessary policy.

American Express, Visa, Discover, and Mastercard first announced plans to end credit card signatures late last year, but have now confirmed to The Verge that the policy change will go into effect starting on April 13. American Express, Mastercard, and Discover all plan to stop requiring signatures tomorrow, while Visa plans to follow later in the month.

Credit and debit card companies have long required signatures for purchases as an added security measure, but with technology improvements that include contactless payments and the adoption of EMV chip technology, signatures are an outdated authentication method.

Officially eliminating signatures when making a purchase will allow for a more consistent, streamlined, and speedy checkout experience for both merchants and cardholders. It should also streamline the Apple Pay experience in the United States, as a signature can on occasion be required for purchases over $50 when using Apple Pay, a step that will be eliminated when the signature changes become official.

American Express plans to end the signature requirement in the United States and other countries around the world, while Mastercard will eliminate it in the United States and Canada. Discover plans to end signatures in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and Visa is making signatures optional in North America for companies that offer chip systems.

All merchants continue to be able to collect signatures if required to do so by an applicable law in a particular jurisdiction.

Apple Store employees will celebrate Earth Day by again wearing green shirts instead of traditional navy blue for the next few weeks.

Apple has already provided many of its retail employees with the new uniform, which they will begin wearing as early as Friday, April 13 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries, according to a reliable source. The new shirts will likely be worn at least through Earth Day on Sunday, April 22.

A tipster who asked to be identified as The Apple Post informant today sent us photos of what appears to be the new uniform items.

Apple also celebrates Earth Day by adding a green leaf accent to the Apple logos at its retail stores around the world, and by offering an Earth Day activity challenge on Apple Watch. And, in recent years, Apple has shared a series of Earth Day videos, Apple Music playlists, and featured App Store apps.

Apple will likely release its 2018 Environmental Responsibility Report around Earth Day, highlighting the company's commitment and progress in relation to recycling, renewable energy, and other green initiatives around the world.

Earlier this week, Apple announced that its global facilities, including retail stores, offices, and data centers across 43 countries, are now powered with 100 percent renewable energy. In addition, an additional nine Apple suppliers around the world have committed to using renewable energy sources.