Latest news with #MichaelRamacciotti
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Apple sues YouTuber over iOS 26 leak, says he had a friend unlock an employee's phone
In a lawsuit, Apple says a YouTuber commissioned a friend to break into Apple employee's phone. Jon Prosser leaked new features of iOS 26 months before WWDC. Prosser said he "did not 'plot' to access anyone's phone and was unaware of the situation playing out." In January, YouTuber Jon Prosser began showing off early renderings of Apple's iOS 26 on his channel, FrontPageTech. First was a redesigned camera rendering. In March, he teased Apple's "liquid glass" redesign, before giving a more thorough look in April. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Apple says Prosser's leaks were ill-begotten. Apple sued Prosser and another man, Michael Ramacciotti, for misappropriation of trade secrets. Prosser denied Apple's recounting of the events in an X post. In the lawsuit, Apple says it received an anonymous tip linking Prosser's leaks to Ethan Lipnik, a software engineer at Apple from 2023-2025. Apple said it received the tip on April 4, months before the software debuted at WWDC, the company's annual conference where it launches products. Apple alleged that Prosser commissioned Ramacciotti to break into Lipnik's development phone. Ramacciotti was a friend of Lipnik's, the suit says. Apple says that while Ramaciotti was staying at Lipnik's house, he waited for his friend to leave, obtained the password for his device, and made a video call to Prosser showing off the features. Apple alleged that Prosser then screen-recorded the video call, recreating the features in new renderings and publishing his copies on YouTube. Apple also says in the lawsuit that Prosser showed the video to other individuals, one of whom noticed Lipnik's apartment in the background, causing them to tip off the company. "Apple takes great care to protect the secrecy of its unreleased products and features," the lawsuit reads. "These safeguards can only go so far to protect against bad actors determined to steal Apple's trade secrets." Apple says in the lawsuit that it has since terminated Lipnik's employment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Prosser, Ramacciotti, and Lipnik did not respond to email and social media messages seeking comment. Lawyers for Prosser and Ramacciotti have not yet been identified on the court docket. "This is not how things went down on my end," Prosser wrote in response to a MacRumors story about the lawsuit on X. "For the record: I certainly did not 'plot' to access anyone's phone and was unaware of the situation playing out." In its lawsuit, Apple asked the court for unspecified damages and an order preventing Prosser from disclosing other unreleased trade secrets that could have been on the device. Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Apple sues YouTuber over leaked details of unreleased iPhone update
July 18 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab has sued YouTuber Jon Prosser and another man in California federal court for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to its upcoming iPhone operating system update and leaking them to the internet. Apple said in the lawsuit filed on Thursday, opens new tab that Michael Ramacciotti used an Apple employee's phone to send details about the forthcoming iOS 26 to Prosser, who outlined the confidential updates in a video on his YouTube page Front Page Tech. Prosser told Reuters on Friday that he "certainly did not 'plot' to steal information nor did I know how it was obtained originally." He said he looked forward to presenting his side of the case to the court. Ramacciotti and a spokesperson for Front Page Tech did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the complaint on Friday. A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment. Prosser first disclosed details of iOS 26, which Apple is set to release this fall, in a YouTube video in January. According to the complaint, Prosser convinced Ramacciotti — a product analyst and video editor who Apple said "needed money" — to break into his Apple employee friend's phone and send Prosser secret information about the new operating system. Apple said that an anonymous whistleblower told the company about the scheme in April. The company in its lawsuit requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a court order for Prosser and Ramacciotti to stop using its trade secrets. The case is Apple Inc v. Ramacciotti, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:25-cv-06043. For Apple: Richard Hung and Mary Prendergast of Morrison & Foerster For Prosser and Ramacciotti: attorney information not yet available
