'LOL ... so funny': Apple says ex-engineer stole secrets and coached a colleague to do the same. He now works at OpenAI

Apple sued (1) a former engineer and OpenAI on July 10, alleging the engineer kept a way into Apple's most sensitive files after he left — and used it. Chang Liu, a senior system electrical engineer for eight years, defected to OpenAI in January. Within weeks, Apple says, he discovered a security bug let him still reach the company's confidential hardware files, and rather than report it, he exploited it and coached a colleague still inside Apple on how to copy materials without tripping the security team. The complaint names Liu, former Apple vice president Tang Tan, OpenAI, and its hardware subsidiary io Products.

None of this has been proven. A complaint only tells the filing party's side, and the defendants have not answered in court. Neither Liu nor Tan has commented. What the filing does offer is a detailed, message-by-message account of what Apple says happened.

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What Apple says Liu did

Liu left Apple on January 22, 2026, and never returned at least one company laptop — the same machine, Apple says, he had used to log into its network. Weeks later, Apple alleges, he found he could still reach its internal network storage, a cloud repository of confidential engineering files, through an authentication bug that should have locked him out.

He did not report it. Instead, Apple alleges, he messaged a former colleague still at Apple, Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng: "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny." Her reply, per the complaint, was "I'm ready."

Apple says that while Liu was building hardware for OpenAI, he downloaded dozens of confidential files. Among them was a compilation of technical materials running past a thousand pages, plus presentations on how Apple manufactures and tests its main logic boards. Apple also alleges he used Peng's Apple-issued computer to get onto the network while she was still an employee and he was not.

Liu also told Peng how to copy files from Apple workstations "to avoid trouble with the security team," pointed her toward specific project folders, and told her which confidential materials to study before her own OpenAI interview. The two allegedly switched to the LINE messaging app to avoid detection. Peng later got an OpenAI offer and left Apple on April 16, 2026.