When the iPhone shipped, much ado was made both of the product itself, but also what a great job Apple had done keeping the details of the phone a secret until it was launched at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Based on research I’ve been doing, however, much of the technical information about Apple’s new iPhone was known prior to launch. The details of the radio (Quad band GSM, EDGE, wi-fi), the rough feature set (phone, data, video, camera, etc.), the touchscreen, even the softball guess of what the form factor would be (”stylishly ceramic and glossy”*) had all been accurately conjectured (or leaked) prior to launch. The only data point which seemed to be completely wrong was the pricing.

And yet, when Steve Jobs took to the stage yesterday and finally took the iPhone out from under wraps, it still blew everyone away. Despite everything that had been leaked or guessed, Apple was still able to keep the “Secret Sauce” a secret until product launch. How? The short form is that they Play Offense.

First, to ensure that leakers are identified as soon as possible, they use counter-espionage techniques in their product processes:

The report notes that Apple provides different code names to different departments to help track down any leaks and that it also keeps disclosure lists about who is briefed on each product. The report also says that when employees receive documents containing sensitive information about unannounced products, the documents are often watermarked with the recipient’s name–a practice that is meant to discourage carelessness.

Next, as ArsTechnica notes Apple isn’t above a healthy dose of Big Brother to keep the lid on things:

Apple also reportedly monitors employees’ surfing activity during the day—not a surprise, as most companies do this to some degree or another—but scolds employees who spend too much time reading “rumor sites,” specifically, while at work. I suppose it makes sense—employees who find out too much via rumor sites might be able to then verify the rumors around campus based on what they already know from the Internet, which is something Apple doesn’t want. The more secrecy, even among employees, the better.

So it’s not entirely the Cult of Apple. While their employees might be more loyal than those of other companies, they still leak information. Sites like ThinkSecret even provide contact information with explicit instructions on how to encrypt information and use anonymous email.

Nevertheless, when something does get out, Apple does’t hesitate to sic the lawyers on the leaker and/or the leak publisher, even though those publishers are some of their biggest fans:

Apple recently sued the proprietor of the ThinkSecret.com insider news site for publishing general information on the Mini and Shuffle — what Apple considers trade secrets — before their official announcement at Macworld. Plus, Apple is preparing subpoenas for two other sites, Apple Insider and PowerPage.org, to force them to divulge their inside sources on a product code-named “Asteroid.”

It can’t hurt that Apple doesn’t hesitate to sic their lawyers on anyone who publishes what they consider to be Trade Secrets, even those people fanatic enough about their products to run fan sites. This certainly reduces the window of exposure (and with it the likelihood) when selfishly disclosed information could be obtained by an competitor.

The end of Apple’s product security may be coming, however. Not because their techniques aren’t effective, but because of structural changes in how they run their business.

A new report suggests, however, that Apple’s secrecy may disintegrate over time due to expanding relations with other firms. “They keep acquiring more and more partners, and as they do that their ability to keep a cone of silence around the company is becoming more difficult,” said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. “They love the secrecy because they get a big bang out of it. But that’s going to erode slowly because their partner ecosystem keeps getting bigger all the time.”

This is a fairly logical outcome as more people who don’t feel ownership of the Cult of Apple won’t have the same emotional commitment to keeping those secrets. As more of Apple’s product development process is outsourced, they will see an increase in the number and detail product leaks as well as leaks occurring earlier in the product development cycle.

Perhaps product secrecy is a valuable piece of Apple’s brand, but Apple management seems to have decided that it’s not as valuable as the cost savings that outsourcing more and more of their supply chain brings.

* I lost the link to this quote, but I promise I’m not making it up.