Latest news with #TaiwanHighProsecutorsOffice
CNN
07-08-2025
- Business
- CNN
Taiwan detains TSMC staff for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets
Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world's largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets, prosecutors said Tuesday. Law enforcement officers questioned several suspects and witnesses late last month. They searched their homes and detained three of them over 'serious suspicions of violating national security laws,' the intellectual property branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said on Tuesday. TSMC produces more than 90% of the world's advanced semiconductor chips that power everything from smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to weapons, with key clients including Apple and Nvidia. After an internal investigation, the major Taiwanese exporter raised suspicions with authorities that its 'core technologies' may have been illegally accessed by former and current staffers. The prosecutor's office said it will probe the motives behind the alleged theft of trade secrets and whether TSMC's proprietary information had been leaked to other parties. It's the first case of its kind since Taiwan tightened its national security law to protect its key technologies in 2022. Nikkei Asia first reported on Tuesday that TSMC had fired staffers suspected of illegally obtaining business secrets related to the manufacturing technology for the company's 2-nanometer chip, the most advanced processor in the semiconductor industry that is expected to go into mass production this year. Super-advanced semiconductor chips are difficult to make because of the high cost of development and the level of knowledge required, meaning much of the production is concentrated in just a handful of suppliers, such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung and Rapidus. TSMC said it discovered the potential trade secret leak after unauthorized activities were detected during routine monitoring. 'TSMC has taken strict disciplinary actions against the personnel involved and has initiated legal proceedings,' the company said in a statement. 'Such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.' Taiwanese local media reported that a former TSMC employee now works at top chip manufacturing equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., and that the Japanese firm's Taiwan office was raided by investigators. On Thursday, Tokyo Electron confirmed it had dismissed an employee of its Taiwan subsidiary who was involved in the case, and said the company was cooperating with authorities. 'As of now, based upon the findings of our internal investigation we have not confirmed any evidence of the respective confidential information shared to any third parties,' it said in a statement. A breach of TSMC's key trade secrets, if proven true, could have national security implications for Taiwan, as it could narrow the technological lead the company has over its competitors in advanced chip manufacturing. TSMC's technological prowess is what fuels the commonly held belief in Taiwan that the island's global dependence on its semiconductors serves as a 'silicon shield' – a deterrent against a potential Chinese invasion, and a leverage in global diplomacy. The tightened legislation, which raised penalties for theft of core technologies and banned the use of them in foreign countries, came after years of incidents of Chinese companies obtaining chip manufacturing knowhow by poaching Taiwanese engineers. This article has been updated with additional information. CNN's John Liu contributed reporting.
CNN
06-08-2025
- Business
- CNN
Taiwan detains TSMC staff for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets
AsiaFacebookTweetLink Follow Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world's largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets, prosecutors said Tuesday. Law enforcement officers questioned several suspects and witnesses late last month; searched their homes and detained three of them over 'serious suspicions of violating national security laws,' the intellectual property branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said on Tuesday. TSMC produces more than 90% of the world's advanced semiconductor chips that power everything from smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to weapons, with key clients including the likes of Apple and Nvidia. The major Taiwanese exporter raised suspicions that its 'core technologies' may have been illegally accessed by former and current staffers with authorities after an internal investigation. The prosecutor's office said it will probe the motives behind the alleged theft of trade secrets and whether TSMC's proprietary information had been leaked to other parties, in the first case of its kind since Taiwan tightened its national security law to protect its key technologies in 2022. Nikkei Asia first reported on Tuesday that TSMC had fired staffers suspected of illegally obtaining business secrets related to the manufacturing technology for the company's 2-nanometer chip, the most advanced processor in the semiconductor industry that is expected to go into mass production this year. Super-advanced semiconductor chips are difficult to make because of the high cost of development and the level of knowledge required, meaning much of the production is concentrated in just a handful of suppliers, such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung and Rapidus. TSMC said it discovered the potential trade secret leak after unauthorized activities were detected during routine monitoring. 'TSMC has taken strict disciplinary actions against the personnel involved and has initiated legal proceedings,' the company said in a statement. 'Such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.' Taiwanese local media reported that a former TSMC employee now works at top chip manufacturing equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., and that the Japanese firm's Taiwan office was raided by investigators. Tokyo Electron's Taiwan office told CNN it has no comment. A breach of TSMC's key trade secrets, if proven true, could have national security implications for Taiwan, as it could narrow the technological lead the company has over its competitors in advanced chip manufacturing. TSMC's technological prowess is what fuels the commonly held belief in Taiwan that the island's global dependence on its semiconductors serves as a 'silicon shield' – a deterrent against a potential Chinese invasion, and a leverage in global diplomacy. The tightened legislation, which raised penalties for theft of core technologies and banned the use of them in foreign countries, came after years of incidents of Chinese companies obtaining chip manufacturing knowhow by poaching Taiwanese engineers. CNN's John Liu contributed reporting.
CNN
06-08-2025
- Business
- CNN
Taiwan detains TSMC staff for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets
AsiaFacebookTweetLink Follow Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world's largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets, prosecutors said Tuesday. Law enforcement officers questioned several suspects and witnesses late last month; searched their homes and detained three of them over 'serious suspicions of violating national security laws,' the intellectual property branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said on Tuesday. TSMC produces more than 90% of the world's advanced semiconductor chips that power everything from smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to weapons, with key clients including the likes of Apple and Nvidia. The major Taiwanese exporter raised suspicions that its 'core technologies' may have been illegally accessed by former and current staffers with authorities after an internal investigation. The prosecutor's office said it will probe the motives behind the alleged theft of trade secrets and whether TSMC's proprietary information had been leaked to other parties, in the first case of its kind since Taiwan tightened its national security law to protect its key technologies in 2022. Nikkei Asia first reported on Tuesday that TSMC had fired staffers suspected of illegally obtaining business secrets related to the manufacturing technology for the company's 2-nanometer chip, the most advanced processor in the semiconductor industry that is expected to go into mass production this year. Super-advanced semiconductor chips are difficult to make because of the high cost of development and the level of knowledge required, meaning much of the production is concentrated in just a handful of suppliers, such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung and Rapidus. TSMC said it discovered the potential trade secret leak after unauthorized activities were detected during routine monitoring. 'TSMC has taken strict disciplinary actions against the personnel involved and has initiated legal proceedings,' the company said in a statement. 'Such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.' Taiwanese local media reported that a former TSMC employee now works at top chip manufacturing equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., and that the Japanese firm's Taiwan office was raided by investigators. Tokyo Electron's Taiwan office told CNN it has no comment. A breach of TSMC's key trade secrets, if proven true, could have national security implications for Taiwan, as it could narrow the technological lead the company has over its competitors in advanced chip manufacturing. TSMC's technological prowess is what fuels the commonly held belief in Taiwan that the island's global dependence on its semiconductors serves as a 'silicon shield' – a deterrent against a potential Chinese invasion, and a leverage in global diplomacy. The tightened legislation, which raised penalties for theft of core technologies and banned the use of them in foreign countries, came after years of incidents of Chinese companies obtaining chip manufacturing knowhow by poaching Taiwanese engineers. CNN's John Liu contributed reporting.
Bloomberg
05-08-2025
- Bloomberg
Taiwan Arrests Six in Probe of TSMC Chip Technology Leak
Taiwan prosecutors arrested six people suspected of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., opening an investigation into a potential breach of national security involving a global tech industry linchpin. The chipmaker to Nvidia Corp. reported a number of former and current staff to authorities on suspicion they illegally obtained core technology. A total of six people were arrested, with two posting bail and one released afterwards, said Taiwan High Prosecutors Office spokesman John Nieh. Prosecutors searched the homes of some staff between July 25 and July 28, the agency said in a statement. It's now trying to find out if data had been leaked to other parties.
Fast Company
05-08-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Taiwanese authorities investigate TSMC chip trade secrets leak
Taiwanese authorities have detained three people for allegedly stealing technology trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest chip foundry, Taiwanese prosecutors said on Tuesday. The three were detained late last month after TSMC reported that an internal investigation had shown that former and current employees had illegally obtained information from the company, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said in a statement. The prosecutor's office said another two people had been released on bail, and one more had been released. The three who have been detained – two current staff and one former employee – are suspected of violating Taiwan's national security law, it added. It did not disclose their identities apart from saying that the former staffer was surnamed Chen. Earlier on Tuesday, TSMC said it had launched legal proceedings and taken disciplinary action against employees involved in potential trade secret leaks after detecting unauthorised activities during routine monitoring. It said its 'comprehensive and robust monitoring mechanisms' enabled early identification of the issue, leading to internal investigations and measures against the personnel involved. TSMC said the legal case, which is now under judicial review, prevented it from providing further details. Nikkei Asia earlier reported that the breach involved several former employees suspected of attempting to obtain critical proprietary information on TSMC's 2-nanometer chip technology. There were no immediate details on the suspected motives or whether any information had been passed on, and investigations are ongoing to determine the scope of the leak and whether any others were involved, the Nikkei report said. Taiwanese media outlet United Daily News said prosecutors and investigators had also searched the offices of Tokyo Electron, without citing where they had obtained the information. Tokyo Electron and the prosecutors' office declined to comment. TSMC's 2-nanometer chip technology is the most advanced technology in the semiconductor industry in terms of both density and energy efficiency, according to the company's website. The contract manufacturer, which counts AI industry darling Nvidia, iPhone maker Apple, and Qualcomm among its customers, highlighted its zero-tolerance policy for trade secret violations, and said it would pursue offenders to the full extent of the law.
