Overview
- A network intrusion at a Tata Electronics assembly facility in late June resulted in the theft of roughly 630GB of internal files that World Leaks and others posted to the dark web.
- Leaked materials reportedly include hundreds of thousands of documents, supplier-to-part mappings for iPhone 18 Pro models, motherboard design files and test photos and videos taken inside the factory.
- Apple and Tata Electronics have opened a joint investigation, Tata has cut employee access and hired a global forensics firm, and Apple is forcing rapid removals through DMCA complaints to social platforms.
- Independent leakers have published technical claims from the files about chips, board layout and larger vapor chamber cooling, but those hardware details remain partially unverified and vary by source.
- The exposure could reveal which components rely on single suppliers and increase competitive, counterfeit and operational risks for Apple as India grows as a major iPhone assembly hub.