Apple Reveals Forensic Evidence From Chang Liu’s MacBook in OpenAI Lawsuit
Apple's legal filing reveals new evidence obtained from a MacBook belonging to former Apple engineer Xiaolang Zhang. An initial forensic analysis of this MacBook uncovered four significant findings. Crucially, Zhang allegedly downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic and then utilized it in his work at OpenAI. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that Zhang and his colleagues at OpenAI were aware of his unauthorized access to Apple's third-party cloud storage. Upon learning of Apple's internal investigation, Zhang purportedly sent instructions to an OpenAI colleague to destroy evidence, which she confirmed she would do. Additionally, Zhang used a tool at OpenAI that shares the same name as an internal Apple engineering application. Apple's lawyers suggest this implies Zhang may have taken an internal Apple engineering app with him to OpenAI. The filing states that Zhang referred to using tools and software packages with names identical to proprietary internal Apple engineering tools. The MacBook itself may not have contained the app, but rather communications referencing its use. This new evidence suggests previously unknown instances of potential trade secret misappropriation by Zhang.