In the ongoing fight between the federal government and the world’s most valuable company, a previously quiet voice emerges: the engineers at ground. The New York Times reports (via John Gruber):

Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities. Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees.

I knew this was going to come up when I first covered it a couple weeks ago. Here’s John Gruber’s comment:

… [M]any, if not most, security engineers at Apple would quit rather than comply with this order — and they’d have no difficulty finding jobs elsewhere in the Valley in today’s market.

The problem with this is that if not them then who? This is a task that must be placed in the most trustworthy hands, and Apple might be compelled to find someone to do it. The alternative to Apple building GovtOS is the government building GovtOS, and I know who I’d pick. But perhaps expressing the desire to quit is good: it reinforces that this is an undue burden on Apple, as it would hamper their ability to retain top talent in a competitive hiring market.