India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched a formal investigation into a massive data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed over 630 gigabytes of confidential documents related to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, officials confirmed on July 3.

Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is leading the probe and has been in touch with Tata Electronics to assess the impact of the leak, which has sent shockwaves through Apple's notoriously secretive supply chain.

The breach, first reported in late June, saw hackers steal more than 200,000 internal files from Tata Electronics — one of Apple's key manufacturing partners in India — and release them on the dark web. The leaked documents include supplier lists identifying which companies produce specific components for the iPhone 18 Pro, detailed parts specifications, and photographs of iPhones undergoing drop tests at one of Tata's plants, dated early 2026.

Apple has expressed serious concern over the breach, which exposes the tightly guarded inner workings of its supply chain. The leak is particularly damaging because it reveals not just component specifications but the very architecture of Apple's supplier relationships — information the company treats as a state secret.

MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan confirmed the government is investigating the reported data leak as a cybercrime. The probe marks a significant escalation in what began as a corporate data breach and has now become a national cybersecurity investigation.

Tata Electronics has not publicly commented on the specifics of the breach, but the company is cooperating with investigators. The incident raises serious questions about supply chain security in India's rapidly expanding electronics manufacturing sector, which has become central to Apple's strategy of diversifying production beyond China.

Sources