Rippling Accuses Deel of Corporate Espionage in Federal Lawsuit

The HR tech giant claims Deel planted a spy to steal trade secrets, while Deel denies the allegations and plans to counter-sue.

Rippling has filed a federal lawsuit accusing competitor Deel of orchestrating a corporate espionage scheme involving a planted employee, referred to as 'D.S.' in the complaint.
The alleged spy accessed sensitive information over 6,000 times, including sales leads, pricing strategies, and customer data, which Rippling claims Deel used to counter its business efforts.
Rippling confirmed its suspicions through a honeypot operation, baiting the spy with a fake Slack channel that was accessed shortly after Deel's executives were informed of its existence.
The lawsuit alleges Deel's top leadership was involved in directing the espionage, though Deel has denied all wrongdoing and called the claims sensationalized.
Rippling is seeking damages and a jury trial, with the case marking a significant escalation in the intense rivalry between the two $10 billion HR tech firms.