India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, the country's IT secretary said on Thursday (Jul 3) in the government's first public comments on the incident.

Sensitive lists of components and suppliers as well as photos of iPhone 18 Pro models are among files that were posted on the ‌dark web by a ransomware group that stole data from Tata Electronics, Apple's Indian supplier, Reuters reported.

"We are investigating," S Krishnan, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told reporters.

Krishnan said the incident had been reported to India's Computer Emergency Response Team, the main agency responsible for computer security issues.

The breach threatens the carefully negotiated, highly sensitive business of building the iPhone, which Apple assembles using a collection of suppliers worldwide.

Apple is expected to release its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September. The leak contains at least six files that expose which companies are producing specific components for the iPhone 18 Pro models, information that Apple does not disclose in its public database of suppliers.

Tata has hired a global consultant to conduct a forensic audit after the leak also saw Tesla, Qualcomm and TSMC documents posted on the dark web, Reuters has reported.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies