You can find anything on the dark web if you know how to look. Ghost guns, suicide kits, leaked credit card credentials, malware for rent and, according to Apple Insider, schematics detailing the logic board design of Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro.
AppleInsider reports that Tata, an Apple supply chain partner that produces iPhone components and assembles models like the iPhone 17 Pro, was hit by a cyberattack in India on June 23. More than 630GB of confidential data was stolen, much of it tied to Apple products, and the outlet has now done its own preliminary analysis of the files since the initial reporting revealed almost nothing about the scope of the breach.
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max logic board schematics, along with data sheets for multiple Apple-designed chips, including the A20 Pro, were obtained by the attackers. Additionally, documentation containing all Apple part numbers for iPhone 18 Pro components is present.
Oops.
The stolen schematics get right into the nitty-gritty of both sizes of Apple's upcoming pro-level handsets, detailing the company's new A20 Pro chip (codenamed Borneo) and the inclusion of several new security features. Apple Insider's seen the files and believes they're legit. Juicy, if you care about incremental cellular hardware updates. But here's the juicy bit. Most of what's been released by the hackers responsible for the breach was data on handsets that have already been on the market for some time: the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 15. Letting folks see details on older hardware, with a few tidbits about gear that's waiting in the wings, is a great way to show a well-monied company that you mean business without showing your hand. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the rest of the information in the data capture is being negotiated as we speak, either by Apple seeking to keep its intellectual property under wraps, by the company's competitors, or by government agencies seeking a backdoor into Apple's hardware. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
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