Dispels rumored Apple security measure

Apple isn't assigning "fake" projects to new hires at the company, say Apple workers in contact with Ars Technica. Last year, Inside Apple author Adam Lashinsky spoke with an ex-Apple employee during a Q&A session; the person claimed that the fake projects are assigned to people during a probationary period. The comments were made in response to Lashinsky's own assertions that workers are sometimes hired to "dummy positions" where they don't know what they'll actually be working on until they start with Apple.

Ars says, though, that having spoken to several current and former workers from different divisions and levels, none of them had any direct experience with being assigned to a fake project, or even knew a friend or co-worker who had. A single ex-employee said they had heard about fake projects from a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, but was skeptical of the claim.

Apple is notoriously strict about corporate secrets, enforcing strict precautions to prevent leaks, and harsh sanctions on people who do pass on information. The Ars sources say though that most Apple work is already covered by non-disclosure agreements, which makes it relatively pointless to test their loyalty with fake assignments.

by MacNN Staff