TSMC workers walk in a corridor in a theater factory in Taiwan. The company builds three of these factories in Arizona.
TSMC
Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing co. said on Tuesday that he had detected “unauthorized activities” which led to discover potential leaks of commercial secrecy.
The largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world told CNBC that he had taken “strict” disciplinary measures against the staff involved and that he had also launched legal proceedings.
“The TSMC maintains a zero tolerance policy towards all the actions that compromise the protection of commercial secrets or harm the interests of the company,” said the company.
“Such violations are treated strictly and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We remain determined to protect our basic competitiveness and the common interests of all our employees.”
Semiconductors have taken strategic importance in recent years because they have become the key pillar in the boom of artificial intelligence models and applications. The rise in geopolitical tensions has highlighted the competitive technological advantages of large companies in the flea supply chain like TSMC and other leaders at all levels.
The TSMC, whose headquarters are in Taiwan, dominates the market to make the most advanced fleas in the world and has the main giants of technology, in particular Apple And Nvidia As customers.
As the case is now under legal examination, TSMC is unable to provide additional information, said the company.
TSMC identified the problem early due to its “complete and robust surveillance mechanisms,” said the company, adding that it had conducted rapid internal investigations.
Nikkei Asia, citing several familiar sources with the issue, reported on Tuesday that several former TSMC employees are suspected of having attempted to obtain critical property information on the development and production of 2-nanomers fleas while they were still working in the company.
The production of the 2 nanometers chip is among the attacking processes of attack on the semiconductor industry currently. TSMC said he had no additional information to share when he was asked by CNBC on the Nikkei report.
As a first manufacturer of flea market in the world, TSMC has an intellectual property treasure. According to its own account, the company previously declared having more than 200,000 commercial secrets recorded in its internal system.
This is not the first time that TSMC has been the target for potential flight. In 2018, a Taiwanese court charged a former employee to copy commercial secrets linked to the manufacturing process of 28 nanometers, with the intention of transferring them to a semiconductor company to mainland China.
In 2023, ASMLWho makes machines necessary for the manufacture of the most advanced fleas, said that he had discovered that a former employee in China had diverted data related to its owner technology.
