Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it has fully recovered from a computer virus that struck the company on Friday evening last week.
Projected costs arising from the incident have been lowered to 2 percent of this quarter’s revenue, down from a previous forecast of 3 percent on Sunday, TSMC told a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei.
Gross margin would fall by 1 percentage point due to the cost of remedying the disruption to production, the company said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
TSMC had previously forecast revenue of US$8.45 billion to US$8.55 billion for the third quarter, meaning losses would range from US$169 million to US$171 million, while gross margin is expected to be between 47 and 49 percent this quarter, down from its earlier guidance of 48 to 50 percent.
TSMC confirmed that the virus, which affected its fab tools, was a variant of the WannaCry ransomware worm.
TSMC said the incident occurred when new equipment was installed and connected to the company’s private network without first being scanned in an isolated system and cleared of viruses.
The WannaCry worm, which is known for its ability to spread rapidly, infected other fab tools at other plants via the company’s private network, TSMC said.
The advanced 7-nanometer fabs took the longest to recover from the virus, it said.
“The incident was caused entirely by a failure to follow protocol,” TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said, denying rumors it was a targeted cyberattack, the work of an internal agent or an act of sabotage via a USB drive.
Wei said the company has not received any ransom demands and none of its data were encrypted by the virus.
“We are in the process of revamping our security protocols, which would remove the possibility of such an error recurring,” Wei said, adding that the new system would be hardwired to block unverified nodes from connecting to the company’s private network.
“We do not expect these security upgrades to greatly affect operating expenses,” Wei said.
It is difficult to ensure that all of the company’s Windows 7 machines have been updated with the latest security patches, as the process requires collaboration with equipment suppliers and can only be performed during downtime, he said.
Wei declined to identify the fab tool that was initially affected, or its supplier, and whether TSMC would pursue legal recourse.
“We have installed tens of thousands of fab tools,” Wei said, adding that it is not normal for tools that have come straight out of the box to carry viruses.
“Our sole priority right now is to maintain clear communication with customers,” Wei said.
TSMC would not be exposed to breach of contract penalties from delayed shipments, chief financial officer Lora Ho (何麗梅) said.
Insurers only offer protection products for losses resulting from theft of customers’ personal data, a situation that does not apply to the TSMC incident, Ho said.
TSMC shares yesterday dipped 0.61 percent to NT$245.5 in Taipei trading.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS