Apple Fires Contractor Over Viral 'Day-in-the-Life' TikTok Video

According to a 9to5Mac report, Apple fired a contractor after a day-in-the-life video showing a glimpse of one of the Cupertino company's offices went viral on TikTok.

The aforementioned TikTok video did not reveal any critical workplace information, such as unreleased products or upcoming announcements. The viral TikTok video included footage of the Apple employee's office, leading some to believe that this was the reason for the abrupt dismissal.

Apple Employee Fired Over Viral TikTok Video

Nylah Boone, the Apple employee, featured in the viral TikTok video, has been creating work-related content in the video-sharing app for quite some time. She also occasionally updates her video catalog with Q&A and travel videos.

@nylah.akua Black girl working in tech - we are back in office y’all!! #blackwomenintech #blackgirltiktok #dayinthelife #workingintech #backtooffice ♬ As It Was - Harry Styles

The video in question, titled "Day in the Life of a Black Girl Working in Tech," has nearly 400,000 views and hundreds of comments. Boone told The Verge that she was simply attempting to show other women of color that this type of career could be an option for them, thereby assisting Apple in achieving a more diverse workforce. The iPhone maker might have thought otherwise, as Boone's contract later did not qualify for a renewal.

"My followers or people who would reach out to me or comment were almost entirely Black women," says Boone. "It was important for me to be able to connect with other Black women and encourage them, 'You can work in this industry or in this role,'" she says.

According to the same 9to5Mac report, Apple typically forbids employees from sharing footage taken inside the company's offices, either through individual NDAs or employment contracts. As more young people take jobs in top tech companies, this may not be the last instance of TikTok or content creation-related firings we hear about.

Probable Reason

Cyberattacks are increasingly targeting large tech firms, so some are putting in place defenses to thwart any intrusion attempts. While strengthening digital defenses can actually prevent some attacks, many online criminals now employ social engineering as a tactic.

How does this relate to the current subject? Apple has refrained from commenting on Boone's termination, but it is important to note that the action may have been taken as a security precaution.

Social engineering attacks take advantage of people's trust in a specific company to obtain information required to gain user access to a network. According to BleepingComputer, it is possible to obtain access information by rummaging through drawers, breaking into a company vehicle, distracting a receptionist, and so on. A tech employee who exposes himself to the public could be a honeypot for hackers.

As previously stated, Apple is yet to comment on the incident, and all these are guesswork from our end.

Several cases of tech companies firing employees due to unintentional exposure of company details have already been reported. Apple recently had a dispute with one of its employees following a viral TikTok video in which the personnel posted a video about a security concern about a stolen iPhone in Coachella.