Apple, Tesla trade secrets allegedly exposed in Tata Electronics hack

Tata Electronics has confirmed a data breach involving documents related to Apple and Tesla products. According to a Reuters report, a ransomware group called World Leaks has published documents, and it claims they were stolen from Tata Electronics. The reported documents included component designs and technical specification papers.

Reportedly, hackers have uploaded more than 200,000 of the exposed files to the dark web. However, it's not confirmed if the documents are genuine or if Apple and Tesla's trade secrets were definitively exposed. 

Reuters quoted Tata Electronics saying, “A few weeks ago, Tata Electronics identified a cybersecurity incident on some of our systems. Our response protocols were deployed immediately, and the incident has had no impact on our operations across businesses, which remain unaffected.”

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Apple is said to be investigating the data breach at Tata Electronics to examine what data may have been impacted and how serious the breach is. According to a source familiar with the matter, Tata Electronics also received a ransom demand in exchange for not releasing the data or for deleting stolen data.

The breach may have a greater impact on Apple’s manufacturing operations in India, as Tata is one of the crucial partners, helping the company expand its production outside of China. 

Apple and Tesla trade secrets breached

The leaked data is said to be over 630 GB from Tata Electronics. The report further noted that the group has also listed files and folders from Apple that also include “com.apple.factorydata,” highlighting that the hacker may have access to its manufacturing-related information.

It also consisted of documents labelled “material specification,” which may consist of information related to components, materials, or manufacturing requirements. Cybersecurity researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia further revealed that the files also consisted of internal emails, event and system logs collected over several years, copies of employee passports, and other personal documents of both Indian and foreign employees.

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There’s also a 52-page document that is said to consist of details related to the iPhone’s inspection for ​circuit board components. However, the authenticity of every file is not confirmed, and if the information genuinely belongs to Apple or Tata Electronics.

On the other hand, Tesla is also reported to be impacted by the breach. Researchers also spotted a folder named “NV36 Chargeport Controller - North America,” which may consist of information related to a charging-port controller component used in an updated version of Tesla's Tesla Model Y. 

They have also found d a document from 2023 marked "TRADE SECRET,” which is said to consist of engineering drawings linked to Project Highland, Tesla's internal codename for the refreshed Tesla Model 3.