Apple supplier TSMC confirms data breach, hackers demand $70 mn

Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, has confirmed that it suffered a data breach after being named as a victim by the Russia-linked LockBit ransomware gang.

According to TechCrunch, the LockBit ransomware gang listed TSMC on its dark web leak site on Thursday, and threatened to publish data stolen from the company, which commands 60 per cent of the global foundry market, unless the chipmaker pays a $70 million ransom demand.

TSMC is responsible for creating all of the A-series and M-series chips used in Apple devices.

"In the case of payment refusal, also will be published points of entry into the network and passwords and logins company," LockBit wrote.

However, the gang provided no evidence of the data it allegedly stole.

"A cybersecurity incident at one of the company's IT hardware suppliers, named as Kinmax Technology, led to the leak of information pertinent to server initial setup and configuration," a TSMC spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"Upon review, this incident has not affected TSMC's business operations, nor did it compromise any TSMC's customer information. After the incident, TSMC has immediately terminated its data exchange with this concerned supplier in accordance with the company's security protocols and standard operating procedures," it added.

Moreover, the report mentioned that TSMC shared a copy of the communication it received from Kinmax Technology, an IT services and consulting firm that specialises in networking, cloud computing, storage, security, and database management.

"In the morning of June 29, 2023, the company discovered that our internal specific testing environment was attacked, and some information was leaked," Kinmax said in its notice.

"The leaked content mainly consisted of system installation preparation that the company provided to our customers as default configurations," it added.

Meanwhile, UK-based the University of Manchester has confirmed that attackers behind a cyberattack revealed in early June had stolen data that is related to some students and alumni.