Apple supplier restricts system access after major data breach

Apple supplier has stiffened its security protocols after facing massive data breach recently.

Tata Electronics, a key Indian supplier to Apple, has restricted internal access to sensitive systems as it investigates a leak of thousands of secret client files on the dark web, a Tata source and two industry officials said.

The supply chain company has ‌also hired a global consultant to conduct a forensic audit and has reported the incident to the Indian government and its clients, said the Tata source, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

Reuters reported this week that ransomware group World Leaks posted more than 200,000 files to the dark web, including purported component design papers from Apple and Tesla, both of which are Tata clients. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the data.

Apple supplier said it had identified a "cybersecurity incident" and there was no impact on operations, without providing additional details.

Reuters found that the leak also contains at least 16 files and folders of purported documents from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and 23 from Qualcomm , both of which make parts used in iPhones.

After it detected the breach, Tata Electronics tightened internal security protocols at all its facilities and offices to restrict remote access to sensitive internal tools, such as those used to place purchase orders, only to select employees, said the Tata source and two people briefed on the matter.

Earlier, access to such internal tools was more liberal, the Tata source said, adding that while work-from-home is still allowed, "only select people have remote access" to such tools. The changes apply to Tata Electronics broadly and are not restricted to a few factories.

"Tata Electronics has hardened access to its sensitive internal systems," the Tata source said. "The investigation is ongoing."

Notably, Tata Electronics, Apple, TSMC and Qualcomm did not responded to the matter yet and all sources cited in this article declined to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

However, the company stated that its incident response protocols were deployed immediately upon identifying the breach to secure their network, though they noted that overall business operations were not disrupted.