Dude, forget watching Succession—we’ve got a real-life corporate espionage thriller unfolding in the world of HR software right now. In short, Rippling just sued Deel, accusing the $12B unicorn of running a full-blown spy operation inside its business. Yes, this is an actual lawsuit, and yes, Rippling orchestrated the perfect “How to Catch a Spy” trap if I ever did see one. 

(Source: Giphy) 

According to Rippling, Deel planted a mole inside its ranks, who then spent four months obsessively digging through proprietary data, stealing sales strategies, and feeding intel straight to Deel’s execs. The best part? The spy got caught when Rippling set up a honeypot Slack channel to bait Deel’s leadership LOL. 

For more context, Rippling alleges that Deel had an inside man snooping through internal Slack conversations, sales pipelines, and customer interactions—basically, a walking data breach with a company email. The mole allegedly searched for “Deel” across Rippling’s systems over 6,000 times, which, in case you haven’t worked in corporate America, is not normal behavior. Eventually, Rippling’s security team got wise and decided to get its James Bond on and set up a trap. 

(Source: CNBC) 

The plan was as follows: They sent a letter to just three Deel executives, mentioning a fake Slack channel called “d-defectors.” Within hours, the spy—who had never searched for this channel before—went looking for it, proving that Deel’s leadership was actively directing the operation. Whadda idiot. 

But, but, but… here’s where things get truly ridiculous. When Rippling confronted the spy with a court order at its Dublin office, he locked himself in a bathroom—presumably to nuke his phone before handing it over LOL. Rippling’s legal team warned him that deleting evidence could land him in jail. His response? “I’m willing to take that risk” as he then escaped the clutches of a bathroom fight to flee the premises. Like, what? This isn’t a finance story, this is a straight up 10-episode docuseries where the guy who knows too much runs off with his phone like Jason Bourne. 

(Source: Giphy) 

So, what in the actual hell did this guy steal? Well, according to Rippling, Deel used this stolen data to intercept sales leads—knowing which customers were considering switching to Rippling and swooping in to stop them. They also grabbed internal contact details and recruitment pipelines to poach Rippling staff. Oh and they also used the data to control media narratives, which Deel allegedly leveraged to weaponize stolen info to counter bad press aimed at themselves. 

For this reason, Rippling is now suing Deel under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)—yes, that RICO, the one used against the mafia. Meaning, they’re not just calling this corporate espionage; they’re accusing Deel of running an organized crime operation. Of course, Deel, for its part, is playing the whataboutism game, saying Rippling is just trying to distract from its own alleged legal troubles related to sanctions in Russia.

(Source: Rippling) 

In the end though, tech rivalries usually involve overpriced acquisitions or petty Twitter feuds—but this? This is corporate warfare with actual spies, honeypots, and bathroom escapes. Naturally, Rippling wants punitive damages and a legal smackdown, while Deel is denying everything and preparing counterclaims. However, regardless if this lawsuit makes it to trial, the real winner to come out of this will be Netflix hands down (especially since this is the best corporate clusterf**k since Theranos). 

So yeah, for now, keep your eyes on this story, if nothing else for the entertainment. And as always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time… 

P.S. You know that feeling when an insider sells $2.5 million shares of a chip stock that’s “supposed” to be the next Nvidia? If you don’t, then you need to join Stocks.News premium asap to get the first-hand look at these massive insider transactions before the rest of the retail world catches on. Spoiler: The stock has soared 400% over the last 12 months—so why in the hell is the Chief Technology Officer of this high-flying stock dumping his bags now? 

Stocks.News holds positions in Netflix as mentioned in the article.