WSJ on Apple and its obsession with secrecy

While many tech companies assign internal code names to products, Apple goes a step further. "It often gives different departments dissimilar code names for the same product," writes the Journal's Nick Wingfield. "If a code name leaks, Apple can more easily track down the department from which the leak originated."

Apple managers are said to keep tabs on who knows what (paid subscription required) about secret projects by maintaining "disclosure lists" of those who have been briefed. When employees receive documents containing sensitive information about unannounced products, they are often watermarked with the recipient's name in order to discourage carelessness, the report states.

The Journal also recalls that when Apple first began to plot its entry into retail, chief executive Steve Jobs instructed Ron Johnson, the head of the retail initiative, to first build a life-size store prototype.

"The project was so hush-hush, Mr. Jobs said when announcing the stores, that he asked Mr. Johnson and his crew to build an exact replica of the 6,000-square-foot store entirely inside a sealed-off warehouse away from Apple's main campus."

Similarly, employees on Apple's Cupertino, Calif. campus are "outfitted with electronic badges" that "grant them access only to specific areas" and not others. The company is also reported to have posted "No tailgating" signs outside entry doors, which are further staffed by security guards in order to deter people from bypassing the badge system by holding the door open.

While the secrecy surrounding unannounced products enables Apple to generate more publicity for the product at the time of launch, the Journal offers several examples of how the approach has had the adverse affect, driving away potential partners and big customers.

Specifically, Apple's obscurity is reported to have forced an end to its iPod resale partnership with HP. It's also foiled potential deals between the large government agencies, including the Argonne National Laboratory and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), over the years.