Chip giant TSMC, hot target for identity theft, confirms data breach
Company employees are valuable resources due to their knowledge.
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- TSMC confirmed current and former employee data appeared online after a third-party cloud provider leak.
- A hacker claims to hold 6.9GB of files covering roughly 46,000 employee records.
- The posted sample includes addresses, bank account numbers, and emergency contacts for 499 employees.
- TSMC says it has found no evidence that its own systems or customer data were compromised.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has confirmed it has suffered a data breach after a hacker posted the stolen records about roughly 46,000 employees.
The news made the TSMC stock slip quickly on Thursday. This isn’t shocking since investors usually judge cybersecurity incidents as events creating legal and regulatory risks.
What actually happened? First, earlier this week, a threat actor said in a dark web forum they had access to internal TSMC data.
The hacker stated the compromised files totaled 6.9GB in size, covering around 46,000 employee records.
The actor has demanded three Bitcoins as ransom for not releasing the files publicly. That’s around $200,000.
They also posted a sample with details about 499 TSMC employees. The file includes addresses, bank account numbers, and emergency contact details – this is promising for crooks behind phishing scams.
TSMC was quick to respond. In an official statement, the company confirmed a data breach had occurred but added that the incident hasn’t affected its secretive internal systems since the data was leaked through a third-party cloud service provider.
Prime target for cybercriminals
“TSMC has found that some of our current and former employee data was made available on an external website without authorization. Currently, we have found no evidence that TSMC’s systems have been compromised,” the company said.
“This information has been verified to match data stored in the system services of a cloud service provider, but is unrelated to the company’s operations or customer-related data.”
The chip giant added that it is working with affected employees, cloud providers, investigators, and cybersecurity organizations.
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As the world’s leading chip manufacturer, TSMC's internal data is a prime target for cybercriminals, particularly those seeking trade secrets. The firm’s employees are themselves valuable sources of knowledge that competitors seek to recruit.
Last year, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau issued a statement accusing Chinese largest chipmaker SMIC and other firms of attempting to woo TSMC talent, Nikkei reported.
According to Taipei, SMIC broke local Taiwanese laws by secretly recruiting engineers to get experienced staff and gain insights of Taiwanese semiconductor know-how.
Previous reports indicated that Chinese technology giant Huawei has similarly targeted talent in Taiwan – specifically from TSMC – by enticing employees with salaries up to triple their previous earnings.
