Apple's iCloud File Sharing Left Ex-Employees With Access to Secret Documents

What happened

The former employees said many Apple files they had been shared on over their careers at the company—including planning documents for product launch events—continued to sync to their personal devices through the iCloud storage service after they left Apple. In some cases, they even received notifications about fresh updates to the documents. Some former employees said they were petrified to delete the files for fear that doing so would attract Apple's attention.

Practical impact for readers

Apple files get mixed in with employees' accounts because the company encourages them to use their personal Apple Accounts with their work iCloud account. Employees are given a 2TB iCloud plan and are able to merge the storage with their existing Apple Account or create a new account. Since only one primary account can be signed in at a time, most opt to use their existing account to avoid having to carry two iPhones.

Details worth verifying

Apple has a managed folder for workplace files that it revokes access to when an employee leaves, but some internal documents aren't saved there automatically and shared files end up mixed in with personal content. Employees can also retain access to iMessage chats and files shared via the Messages app.

Who should act or wait

Lingering access to Apple systems is central to Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI. In its filing , Apple alleged that former employee Chang Liu breached Apple's systems using a "rare, previously unknown authentication bug" to download files while he was working at OpenAI.

What is still unclear

Apple told The Information that the OpenAI lawsuit is unrelated to any files left available on iCloud and that it does not pursue legal claims against former employees who accidentally have Apple documents in their personal iCloud accounts.

Source notes

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