Appin was an Indian cyber espionage company that provided hacking services to governments, private investigators, and corporate clients. Founded in 2003 by Rajat Khare and high school friends, Appin began as a technology education startup, offering franchised courses in programming, robotics, and cybersecurity to Indian university students. By 2007, it had launched a digital security consultancy whose work for Indian intelligence and military agencies drew the company into government surveillance operations, and by 2010 it had shifted to mercenary hacking for private-sector clients. It operated a digital platform through which 70 clients commissioned hacks against hundreds of targets worldwide.

According to investigative reports by Reuters, Appin was a "hack-for-hire powerhouse that stole secrets from executives, politicians, military officials and wealthy elites around the globe." The company is credited with creating the operational model still used by India's cyber-mercenary industry. Khare, through his U.S. law firm Clare Locke, has denied any involvement in hacking, stating he "has never operated or supported, and certainly did not create, any illegal 'hack for hire' industry" and that under his tenure Appin specialised in training students in cybersecurity, "never in illicit hacking." His lawyers have described media reports tying Khare to hacking as "false" or "fundamentally flawed" and have said he left Appin in part because rogue actors were misusing the company's brand.

Between 2012 and 2016, Appin became the subject of criminal investigations in several countries, though these were eventually closed without charges. Google's threat intelligence team tracked hackers linked to Appin targeting tens of thousands of email accounts. Following increased scrutiny, Appin scaled back its online presence and was subsequently renamed multiple times, ultimately becoming Sunkissed Organic Farms in 2017, while former employees went on to found other hack-for-hire firms that continue to operate.

Co-founder Rajat Khare, who resides in Switzerland, has been the subject of ongoing legal actions and media investigations. According to a report by Reporters Without Borders, Khare and entities associated with Appin have targeted at least 15 media outlets with lawsuits and legal demands in multiple countries, which RSF described as "an offensive on an unprecedented global scale" to suppress reporting on the company's activities.

In December 2003, Rajat Khare, along with high school friends, conceived Appin to offer technology training workshops to university students. By 2005, Rajat Khare had been joined by his brother Anuj Khare, a former motivational speaker, and the company had an office in western New Delhi. Their franchise offered courses in programming, robotics, and cybersecurity. By 2007, Appin had opened a digital security consultancy helping Indian organisations defend themselves online. This drew the attention of Indian government officials, who were navigating internet-era intelligence challenges and seeking ways to hack into computers and emails.

Shortly thereafter, Appin established a subsidiary called Appin Software Security, also known as the Appin Security Group, to conduct surveillance activities for the Indian government. Employees signed non-disclosure agreements and were assigned to military-controlled facilities, where they worked away from their colleagues in the wider company. Their targets included Pakistan, China, and Khalistan movement separatists from India's Punjab state.

By 2009, the company's clients had included the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Intelligence Bureau, India's military, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Appin claimed its solutions were used by government intelligence agencies to monitor hostile individuals, marketed software for analysing call metadata, and explored importing Israeli cell phone interception devices. For the fiscal year ending in 2009, the company earned nearly $1 million in revenue and a profit of about $170,000, with projections of a nearly tenfold revenue increase over the following 36 months.

The company also generated additional revenue by covertly reselling material it had hacked for one Indian agency to another. This practice was eventually uncovered, prompting several Indian intelligence agencies to terminate their contracts with Appin. According to Reuters, following the loss of government contracts, Appin shifted its focus to private sector clients.