Apple is hiring security staff to protect against counterfeiting and theft

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS GIANT Apple is hiring additional security staff to help protect it from counterfeiting and theft, following yet another incident of a lost Iphone prototype.

The company is looking for two managers to bump up its "new product security", according to the Associated Press, joining an already tight security programme that includes personnel who used to work for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Apple has been tight-lipped about its security problems, but the Associated Press discovered that four San Francisco police recently joined two Apple staff at a home in Bernal Heights to search for a missing prototype, believed to be the upcoming Iphone 5.

Apple's desperation to keep its unreleased products secret might seem, at times, a little over the top, but in a multi-billion dollar industry where many companies are looking to topple Apple from its throne, exposure of plans and product details could give rivals a competitive edge.

Apple's security woes began again earlier this month when a prototype for its Iphone 5 was lost in a bar, a deja vu experience for the company, given that a similar thing happened to an Iphone 4 prototype in 2010, which led to the involvement of police authorities and a raid on a technology webs ite editor's home after pictures and details were leaked at Gizmodo.

More recently pictures of the alleged Iphone 5 case have surfaced online, suggesting that someone must have their hands on the coveted device. These lost devices are supposed to be handed in when found, but they're much too valuable for that, particularly considering the $5,000 price tag for the Iphone 4 prototype that Gizmodo bought.

The questions, of course, are how these prototypes get out of Apple buildings in the first place, and why so many Apple employees carrying them seem to spend a lot of time in bars. Regardless, it appears that Apple is no longer willing to stick with its existing security protocols, as its new security managers might introduce tougher rules for what employees can do, where they can go, and what they can take with them.

Leaked prototypes are not the only security problem for Apple, however, as the company also suffers from extensive counterfeiting in China for both its Iphone and Ipod ranges and also its Macbooks and other devices. The problem is so big that there are even fake Apple stores in China, many of which have been shut down in recent months.

Of course, when you're making as much money as Apple is, lost or stolen prototypes and counterfeit goods are probably worth the hassle, if you're one of the top dogs in the consumer technology industry. µ