Name: Mehrab Ahmed

ID: 1710710
Course Name: Business Law.
Course ID: BUS360
Submitted to: Afnan Ashfaque
Date of submission: 5/04/2020
Reaction: The company denies any responsibility for social issues.

Apple

Apple Inc. is an American bunch technology aggregation

headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and
sells customer electronics, computer software, and online services. It
is advised one of the Big Four technology companies, alongside
Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

In 2014 Apple’s iCloud has been hacked and the hacker leaked
some personal information of few celebrities. You must be thinking
what is iCloud? iCloud storage is a service model in which data is
transmitted and stored on remote storage systems, where it is
maintained, managed, backed up and made available to users over a
network (typically the internet). Users generally pay for their cloud
data storage on a per-consumption, monthly rate.

Some hackers hacked into the iCloud and leaked some valuable
information over the internet. But how did apple respond to that is
the question.

Here is the Apple’s statement:

“We wanted to provide an update to our investigation

into the theft of private information of certain celebrities. When we
learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized
Apple’s engineers to discover the source. Our customers’ privacy and
security are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of
investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts
were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names,
passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too
common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has
resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud®
or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement
to help identify the criminals involved. To protect against this type of
attack, we advise all users to always use a strong password and
enable two-step verification. Both of these are addressed on our
website.”

But Apple's response still leaves some unanswered questions. If the

culprits weren't able to infiltrate iCloud, then how were they able to
target individuals? And what, if anything, can Apple do to prevent it?

As soon as the statement was released, several journalists and tech

pundits pointed out that Apple appeared to be placing the blame on
the “ user,” not the fact that Apple IDs seem to be easy to crack if
you have the right tool.

Basically, Apple’s denial of an iCloud breach is that the vulnerability

that allowed accounts to be hacked doesn’t count as a “breach".
They are claiming that iCloud wasn’t “breached”. Hackers did use a
"brute force" method. “ We have discovered that certain celebrity
accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user
names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has
become all too common on the Internet”.

But what Apple doesn't say is whether a flaw on its end allowed the
hackers to employ brute-force methods. Other than enabling 2-step
authentication, which requires you to validate your password
through a secondary device, there's not much assurance that you're
safe from being targeted. But apple denied the breach of the iCloud
anyway.
Accommodation: The corporation admits responsibility and
does what is demanded of it by relevant Groups.

Apple

Allegations on slowing down older devices: Many customers

had long suspected that Apple slowed down older iPhones to
encourage people to upgrade when a new one was released. Apple
was deliberating slowing down older devises.

In 2017 Apple says it’s doing this to protect your phone. As the
lithium-ion batteries in the phones age, they can’t handle processing
demands at the same capacity, which causes the phone to shut down
unexpectedly. The company released an update to stop those
unexpected shutdowns, which also means the phones work a little
more slowly. It triggered a lot of customers and Apple had to face
several lawsuits.

How Did apple Accommodate?

Apple will pay as much as $500 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the
company deliberately slowed down certain iPhones in order to encourage
customers to buy new ones.

The proposed settlement, Apple has to pay $25 per iPhone and a
minimum of $3 million, though it still needs to be approved by a judge in
the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

In the class action lawsuit, customers had accused the company of

misleading them by using software updates to cap the performance on
iPhone 6, iPhone 7, and iPhone SE models without notifying them,
causing them to assume their phones — rather than just their batteries —
Apple denied any wrongdoing in the settlement, saying the updates were
intended to prevent the devices from trying to draw too much power
from aging batteries, potentially causing the devices to crash.

Apple customers had long suspected the company was deliberately

slowing down old iPhones, a practice known as "throttling." In 2017, after
Reddit users pointed out that replacing the batteries seemed to boost
performance — a finding backed up by benchmark data —
Apple admitted that was what was going on.

In response to the scandal, which became known as "batterygate," Apple

offered to replace customers' batteries for $29 instead of the $79 it
typically costs for the service. In 2018, more than 11 million people took
advantage of the offer — more than 10 times as many people as in
previous years.

However, that the company's acknowledgment still led furious customers

to file more than 60 lawsuits.

In early 2019, Apple said it had begun setting aside funds in anticipation

of potential fines and settlements. So far, those have included a $27
million fine imposed by regulators in France earlier this month and a $5
million fine from Italian regulators in 2018.

While proposed settlement requires Apple to pay a much higher amount

than in previous settlements, the fine is still just a fraction of Apple's
revenue — roughly equivalent to the profit Apple turns in just over two
days, based on its lastest quarterly earnings report.
Defense: The corporation admits responsibility. But fights it. The
corporation may adapt an approach based on superficial public
relation rather than positive action

Apple

Bending Issues of 2018 iPad Pro: Apple has confirmed that

some of its 2018 iPad Pros are shipping with a very slight bend in the
aluminum chassis. But according to the company, this is a side effect
of the device’s manufacturing process and shouldn’t worsen over
time or negatively affect the flagship iPad’s performance in any
practical way. Apple does not consider it to be a defect. The bend is
the result of a cooling process involving the iPad Pro’s metal and
plastic components during manufacturing, according to Apple. Both
sizes of the new iPad Pro can exhibit it.

The response comes after some customers on social media

and several on the MacRumors forums have claimed their iPad Pros
developed a small curve or bend without any mistreatment or
abnormal stress being exerted on the metal casing. There are posts
from people who believe it happened gradually over the course of
normal, everyday use — or after transporting the iPad Pro in a
backpack.

How did apple respond?

Apple responded by saying Apple says that concerns over the IPad
pro’s Structural rigidity are unfounded. Those who are annoyed by
the bend shouldn’t have any trouble exchanging or returning their
iPad Pro at the Apple Store or other
retailers within the 14-day return window. But it’s not clear if swaps
will be permitted outside that policy. Apple is adamant that a bend
within spec will not compromise the device’s structural strength,
impact performance, or grow worse over time. The company doesn’t
go into how it’s so confident in that statement, but presumably the
iPad Pro has been through a gamut of testing. The support page
mentions its inspection process, but doesn’t address durability
checks.

Apple urges anyone who believes their iPad Pro enclosure has a warp
or bend beyond 400 microns to contact the company’s support
channels, and also reminds customers of its 14-day return policy. The
statement stops short of issuing a formal replacement program for
devices outside that return window, but the punt to customer
support tells me that representatives are likely well aware of the
situation.
Pro-action: The corporation seeks to go beyond industry norms
and anticipates future expectation by doing more than expected.

Apple

Apple is committed to the highest standards of social responsibility

across our worldwide supply chain. We insist that all of our suppliers
provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and
respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing
processes. Our actions — from thorough site audits to industry-
leading training programs — demonstrate this commitment

Looking on the environmental side, Apple seems to be very

transparent about its commitment to reduce the environmental
impact of its products. This ranges from the non-use of hazardous
materials to the calculation of the carbon footprint and less
packaging. Additionally it aims to design its products to be as energy
efficient and recyclable as possible. This has benefits for the
environment and for the company and Apple should be
acknowledged for this effort. These actions towards a greener
company are well recognized amongst the customers, as stated in
a survey by TDG in 2008, where 1512 internet users rate Apple as the
most environmentally friendly technology brand. In contrast
Greenpeace rated Apple 11th out of 17 rated companies in its Guide
to Greener Electronics 2009. This created a gap between the
perceptions of the customers and the reality. This gap is quite
dangerous, because in case the perception of the customers is
revealed to be untrue this would cause a huge damage on Apples
reputation. The company already works hard to close the gap and
went up five places in the Guide to Greener Electronics of
Greenpeace from the ninth to the fourth place in 2011.
In 2016 apple released iPhone 7. They also released an exclusive
version iPhone RED. The red iphone is very special As Apple has
taken As initiative for the better World. The new RED iPhones are
part of the company's Red initiative, which funds programmes that
combat HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Apple is world's largest
corporate donor to the global fund that fights AIDS. Some portion of
the money will be donated to combat HIV and AIDS.

Further evidence of Apple’s leadership in and commitment to the AIDS

fight since the beginning of (RED) in 2006,” said Deborah Dugan, (RED)’s
CEO. “The more than $160 million Apple has donated in the last 11
years today equates to more than 800 million days of lifesaving ARV
medication that prevents the transmission of HIV from mothers to their
babies. We’re honored that Apple has dedicated its resources to our
purpose, and can’t wait to see customers bring our mission to life
through the purchase of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED
Special Edition.”
Conclusion: Apple revolutionized personal technology with the
introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in
innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s
four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide
seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people
with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple
Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to
making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than
we found it.