Govt finds no evidence of critical data loss in Tata Electronics cyber incident: IT Secretary
New Delhi, July 13
The government on Monday said that it has not found evidence of any critical loss of information following the recent cyber security incident involving Tata Electronics.
Speaking at the launch of the latest Digital Threat Report, Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S. Krishnan said Tata Electronics is working closely with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to address the incident.
"Tata Electronics is working closely with MeitY. Based on the government's assessment so far, nothing critical has been lost," he said.
The remarks come amid concerns over the potential impact of the cyber security incident on Apple's supply chain, as Tata Electronics is one of the iPhone maker's key manufacturing partners in India.
Krishnan, however, said the matter remains under evaluation, indicating that authorities are continuing to monitor the situation.
Earlier, in the government's first official response to the incident, the MeitY Secretary had said that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) was examining the reported data breach and working with the company to assess its implications.
Addressing the broader cyber security landscape, Krishnan said organisations must treat cyber security as an enterprise-wide risk rather than a technology issue alone, and maintain constant vigilance against evolving digital threats.
He added that the government has been working closely with industry to strengthen cyber resilience through CERT-In advisories, cyber hygiene initiatives and incident response mechanisms, particularly as AI-enabled cyber attacks and supply chain vulnerabilities become increasingly sophisticated, as highlighted in the latest Digital Threat Report.
Meanwhile, last week, Krishnan said that the government will take a view on further action against Meta after examining the company's formal response to a notice issued over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) allegedly promoted through paid advertisements on Instagram.
Speaking on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit in the national capital, Krishnan said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is awaiting Meta's formal reply before deciding its next course of action.
"We will await the formal response to the notice that we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on what the response is," Krishnan said on July 9.
— IANS
Reader Comments
If no critical data was lost, then why the silence initially? Seems like they're brushing it under the carpet. India's manufacturing reputation is at stake, especially with Apple's eyes on us.
Let's be honest—cyber attacks are becoming way too common. Private companies like Tata must invest in proper AI-driven threat detection, not just rely on CERT-In advisories after the fact.
Good to see MeitY being proactive. But this double focus—Tata electronics and Meta—shows how stretched our digital regulators are. We need dedicated cyber cells for critical sectors like manufacturing.
Honestly, I trust Tata more than many other companies. But this incident proves no one is immune. The government saying "nothing critical lost" is reassuring, but I hope they mean it.
Good response from the IT Secretary. But let's not forget the bigger picture—supply chain security needs to be a boardroom priority, not just an IT team's headache. Kudos for calling that out.
Interesting that they're talking about AI-enabled cyber threats but not giving specifics about Tata's breach. Transparency would go a long way in building trust with both investors and the public.