Sensitive lists of components and suppliers, as well as photos of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, are among the files posted on the dark web by the ransomware group that stole data from the Indian supplier Tata Electronics, according to documents and a source. The exposure threatens the carefully negotiated business of building the iPhone, which Apple assembles from a network of suppliers worldwide. It could also upset Apple and its relationship with Tata, and hand rivals, counterfeiters and Apple’s own vendors a view of who makes what.
Tata, which supplies parts and assembles iPhones as a contract manufacturer, is emerging as one of Apple’s most important manufacturing partners outside China, an expansion that is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make India an electronics manufacturing powerhouse.
Apple is reportedly on track to release its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September. The leak comes at a difficult time for the US company, which last week raised iPad and MacBook prices due to soaring memory and storage chip costs, with analysts expecting iPhone price increases to be announced in the coming months.
Reuters previously reported that the Tata Electronics leak of more than 200,000 files by World Leaks included files with purported component designs of older iPhones and some parts for the EV maker Tesla — both Tata clients. They also included documents of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Qualcomm, both of which make parts used in iPhones.
