Apple says former employee exploited 'rare' bug to download confidential files after leaving for OpenAI

Apple said Friday it is suing OpenAI over the alleged theft of trade secrets, claiming a former employee exploited a rare authentication bug to download confidential files after leaving for a job at the artificial intelligence company. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, Apple identified the former employee as system electrical engineer Chang Liu. Apple said Liu allegedly exploited a previously unknown authentication vulnerability, classified as a zero-day, to access the company's network storage during February 2026, weeks after departing for OpenAI. The complaint alleges Liu took dozens of confidential hardware-related files containing detailed information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications and proprietary project data. Apple said it has since fixed the bug and terminated the employee's access once it learned of the security breach. A check of server logs indicated only Liu exploited the bug to steal confidential information while no longer an employee, according to the complaint. The filing also alleges Liu misused the access of an acquaintance, Yu-Ting Peng, a then-Apple employee who later joined OpenAI, by using her Apple-issued work laptop. Apple has demanded a jury trial. OpenAI previously said it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets. Apple spokespeople did not respond to questions about the vulnerability or when the company decommissioned the employee's credentials.