Apple has been trying for years to reduce its extensive dependence on Chinese companies in iPhone production – among other things by setting up production sites in other Asian countries. On the Indian subcontinent, the company “Tata Electronics” is an important partner, as it is responsible for around a third of the iPhones produced in the country. This company had unauthorized access to company data, reports the Reuters news agency. Since June 10, a database of over 200,000 Tata documents has been found on the dark web. These include 181 files and folders that are related to Apple. The Indian contract manufacturer confirmed the “cybersecurity incident” on some of their systems. “Our emergency protocols were immediately activated and the incident had no impact on our business operations, which remain unaffected.” Last year, Tata was the victim of a similar attack, as a result of which the affected factory had to suspend vehicle production for Jaguar Land Rover for six weeks.
The data theft is attributed to the “World Leaks” group; This is related to various data thefts in the past. Generally, World Leaks demands a ransom to prevent publication. This is also said to have been the case in this case.
Data from Tesla and Apple
Among the published documents, Reuters journalists, with the help of security researchers, were able to discover some files that are classified as trade secrets. They have titles like “com.apple.factorydata” and documents that address material specifications. E-car manufacturer Tesla is apparently also one of the Indian company’s customers; The bundle contains detailed information on unpublished vehicle models, such as revised versions of the Model Y off-road vehicle and the Model 3 sedan. Neither Apple nor Tesla responded to inquiries from Reuters.
Impact on workers
In addition to extensive corporate communications, the published documents also included a large collection of scanned employee identification documents. Their publication increases the risk of Tata employees becoming victims of identity theft in the future.
Pollution criticism averted
Recently, one of Tata’s factories had to defend itself against allegations of contaminating nearby wells and fields with production residues. After several inspections and the threat to close the plant, Tata was able to use current water and soil samples to convince the local authorities that the Hosur plant no longer poses a threat to the environment.
