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If becoming a spy sounds like an exciting way to live like a le Carr\u00e9 character, let this newest affidavit from confessed Rippling spy Keith O\u2019Brien serve as a warning.<\/p>\n
On Friday, an Irish judge granted O\u2019Brien a restraining order against several men who have not yet been identified, according to the court order seen by TechCrunch. O\u2019Brien testified that multiple men \u2014 two in a gray Skoda Superb on one occasion, and more often, a short-haired, heavy-set man in a black SUV, sometimes accompanied by a large dog \u2014 had repeatedly followed his car and watched his home.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien\u2019s story has captured the imagination of the tech industry after his colorful confession<\/a> in April, in which he alleged that he was a spy for Deel. He said he was paid \u20ac5,000 a month to steal Rippling\u2019s internal data on everything from products to customers. Rippling caught him by setting up a honeypot Slack channel. On the day he was caught, O\u2019Brien pretended to flush his phone down the corporate toilet and later smashed it, dropping\u00a0pieces down the drain at his mother-in-law\u2019s house, according to his affidavit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now he\u2019s the star witness for Rippling in its lawsuit against Deel. Rippling is even picking up the tab for his legal and related expenses<\/a>, its lawyers testified. Deel is also countersuing Rippling<\/a>, claiming it was spied on too, by a Rippling employee impersonating a customer<\/a>. The two HR tech companies have been bitter rivals for years after Deel \u2014 once a Rippling customer \u2014 began offering competing products.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the latest part of the saga, O\u2019Brien testified that he tried to lose the black SUV following his car by making sudden turns and taking roundabout ways to get home, only to see it reappear in his rearview mirror. He hired a security consulting company and feared that someone was placing tracking devices on his car.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien claims all of these incidents have created \u201cemotional and psychological\u201d damage for himself and his wife. \u201cWe have been experiencing anxiety at home and in public. It has affected our sleep and our concentration,\u201d O\u2019Brien said in his latest affidavit. They are fearful for the safety of their four children.<\/p>\n He and his lawyer speculated that this was intended as harassment related to his role as star witness. However, O\u2019Brien\u2019s lawyer also admitted in court that they had no evidence tying the men to Deel. Deel also denied knowing anything about the man in the black SUV.<\/p>\n