TSMC Takes Legal Action Over Trade Secret Breach Targeting Its 2-Nanometer Chip Technology

• What happened: The TSMC chipmaker detected unauthorized activities during routine monitoring.
• Resulted actions: A potential trade secret leak is suspected, with the company taking legal and disciplinary action against the involved employees.
• Trade secret breach: The individuals are suspected of attempting to obtain 2-nanometer chip technology proprietary data.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the leading global producer of advanced AI chips, has initiated legal proceedings and internal disciplinary measures in response to a suspected trade secret breach. 

TSMC stated it detected the issue early and started internal investigations in a statement to Reuters on Tuesday.

Breach Details  

According to reports from Nikkei Asia, the breach involves former employees suspected of attempting to obtain proprietary information regarding the company's 2-nanometer chip technology.   

The company, which works with Nvidia, Apple, and Qualcomm, has confirmed that disciplinary measures have been enacted against the implicated individuals, and the matter is now under judicial review. 

While TSMC declined to disclose further details due to ongoing investigations, the scope of the data breach, including whether external parties accessed sensitive data, remains under scrutiny.  

Implications for Semiconductor Industry Security  

The TSMC trade secret breach highlights escalating security challenges within the semiconductor industry, where proprietary technologies form the backbone of advancements in artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, and telecommunications.  

A breach of this magnitude poses severe risks, from jeopardized intellectual property to compromised competitive advantage, amplifying the need for stricter semiconductor industry security measures.