Forget the dull i Phone 18 Pro leak — hackers took 181 files from Apple's India assembly partner, and we should brace for more | Tech Radar

Overview

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

Details

Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Forget the dull i Phone 18 Pro leak — hackers took 181 files from Apple's India assembly partner, and we should brace for more

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

A few weeks ago, Reuters reported that India's Tata Electronics, one of Apple's largest i Phone production facilities, suffered a serious data breach compromising 200,000 files and 630 gigabytes of data. Apple wasn't the only target — Tesla data was snapped up, too — but the apparent fruits of that illicit labor resulted in one very large i Phone 18 Pro leak.

We have no confirmation that the videos of a silver i Phone 18 Pro undergoing drop tests are real, but the detail in the online post that the videos come from a Tata leak lends credence to their veracity.

Some called it the biggest leak since Gizmodo and the i Phone 4. As others have noted — and I agree — it's really not on that level. After all, the i Phone 4 that someone found in a California bar was a fully functioning model. For all we know, the alleged i Phone 18 Pro shown in the video is just a dummy model or a chassis with no internal components.

It's what comes next, though, that has me concerned and I'm sure worries Apple too.

As of this moment, the data from the breach, which Tata Electronics confirmed, is on the Dark Web. This is a part of the internet hidden from the public web; it's not searchable by Google or even your favorite AI chatbot. Only people who know how to traverse the dank space, usually using a Tor browser, can search the treasure trove of information from Tesla and Apple.

Tata Electronics confirm data breach, with hackers claiming 200,000 Apple, Tesla files stolen

Why there (probably) won’t be an i Phone 18 this year

According to Reuters, a group called World Leaks had started posting data from the breach on the Dark Web and it included "several purported Apple files and folders, some titled 'com.apple.factorydata', and documents referring to 'material specification'."

What appears to be happening is that hackers (and maybe others on the Dark Web who know where to find these files and how to dig into them) are just starting to unearth critical data from Apple (and Tesla). It stands to reason, then, that the videos we've seen are not the end of the leaks but just the beginning.

With the launch of the i Phone 18 lineup likely just a few months away (most expect it to happen in the first half of September), Apple is well past the point of design and specification. It's working with manufacturing partners like Tata Electronics to assemble the phones (and maybe test them) and prepare them for shipping. Once Apple unveils all its new handsets, including perhaps the new i Phone Ultra foldable, it will be just a few weeks before they start shipping to customers. Apple must build millions of handsets now in order to prepare for typical demand.

As for what we might see next, that's anyone's guess. Obviously, this leak put Apple on high alert. It may be playing the whack-a-mole game of stamping out the spread of this leak, and is surely it's working with Tata to ensure another breach doesn't happen. But there's not much Apple can do to police the Dark Web. It can't break down the door of the Internet and demand those files back.

Hackers and other interested parties will dig through those folders and files, looking for other tidbits to post — I'm sure they've already been scouring them for any indication of a folding device. Tata, though, may not have been tasked with building that completely new and all-important device. This is just conjecture, but for that flexible handset, Apple could've turned to its oldest and most trusted i Phone manufacturing partner in China, Foxconn.

Mac Book price rises could be far worse than i Phone 18 Pro, analysts predict

Two future i Phones may be ‘largely unchanged in appearance,’ leaker claims

I know, why do that when the US is pushing for manufacturing outside China (and in the US, if it can get it)? My thinking is that the Ultra folding i Phone will be more expensive and probably not as appealing as a mass-market phone and will therefore sell in far lower quantities. In that case, Apple leaves that with Foxconn and still hands at least a third of the i Phone 18 assembly duties to Tata.

If that's the case, then future leaks will revolve around everything but the new foldable... if Apple is lucky.

Mark my words, though, I really don't think this is the last major leak we'll see in the run-up to Apple's big i Phone 18 launch.

Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

1 That free VPN Chrome and Firefox extension may be reading your clipboard every half a second, researchers warn

2A24's Backrooms has an extended cut with over 15 minutes of unseen footage — here's when you can watch it in theaters

3 How to watch England vs DR Congo: Free Streams, TV Channels & Kick-Off time for FIFA World Cup 2026

4‘Families, farmers, and small businesses should not be forced to cover the costs of new power generation’: Forget Trump’s voluntary commitment, this new bipartisan act wants to force AI companies to pay for the energy they use

5I've been hunting for the best earbuds for travel — here are the 6 pairs our audio team recommends

Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Key Takeaways

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards