It didn’t even seem real when the story broke that someone had purchased an iPhone prototype that was found in a bar after an Apple employee left it behind. Over a year later and we were hit with yet another report of a lost iPhone prototype, where else, but in a bar.
If their new job listings are any indication, Apple appears to be getting sick of this trend and are recruiting new product security managers to help keep things hush hush in cupertino. Officially, the posting lists that new hires:
“will be responsible for overseeing the protection of, and managing risks to, Apple’s unreleased products and related intellectual property.”
We all got quite a laugh from the hilarity of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house getting ransacked by police, especially having not broken any laws. But, these situations are a nightmare for Apple who bets the farm on keeping their secrets safe until the right time.
The reason for all of the secrecy in the first place is that Apple’s competitors are chomping at the bit hoping to get even the tiniest glimpse at what is in store. This allows them the ability to get a jump on competing directly. Make no qualms about it, there is money tobe lost here, and Apple is smart to be looking to minimize the surface area of its security layer.
The human element of security is always the biggest stumbling block to companies, especially as they begin to grow and expand beyond the range of “small business”. With more hands comes more holes, and sealing those is a matter of educating the masses, a feat that is not so easily accomplished at such a grand scale.
