India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that reportedly exposed confidential information linked to Apple’s unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, the country’s IT secretary said on Thursday (July 3), marking the government’s first public response to the incident.
Sensitive documents, including component lists, supplier details and images of the iPhone 18 Pro, were allegedly posted on the dark web by a ransomware group that targeted Tata Electronics, an Apple supplier in India, Reuters reported.
“We are investigating,” said S. Krishnan, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, adding that the case has been referred to India’s Computer Emergency Response Team, the national cybersecurity agency.
The breach raises concerns over Apple’s tightly controlled global supply chain, where production of iPhones relies on multiple international suppliers.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September. The leaked files are said to include at least six documents revealing supplier assignments for specific components—information Apple does not publicly disclose.
Tata Electronics has reportedly hired a global consultancy firm to carry out a forensic audit following the leak, which also allegedly involved documents related to Tesla, Qualcomm and TSMC being published on the dark web, according to Reuters.
