ASML claims an employee stole chip manufacturing secrets and sold them to China

ASML, one of the world’s major suppliers to the semiconductor industry and the sole producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography photolithography devices, has claimed that a former employee in China stole sensitive technological information in a data breach.   The Netherlands IT business stated in its newly published 2022 annual report that it uncovered “unauthorised misuse of data,” which was swiftly probed in an internal assessment. According to a Gartner report, ASML is a crucial cornerstone of the worldwide technology supply chain, holding over 90 per cent of the global market for chipmaking lithography equipment by 2021.   **Also read: How one Dutch company has a stranglehold over the global chip industry** More importantly for anyone with a high-end smartphone or laptop, ASML is the world’s sole provider of EUV lithography equipment. These specialized lithography machines are required to create the world’s most advanced semiconductors produced by global chip manufacturers like TSMC and Intel. Based on its preliminary investigations, ASML believes that the misappropriated data will not have a negative impact on its current operations, although it concedes that some “export control requirements” may have been breached. ASML has subsequently disclosed the data breach to the appropriate authorities, and it is “implementing further corrective steps in light of this event." **Also read: Fall of the Titan: China's biggest chip maker SMIC saw profits fall by over 25% YoY** The company did not elaborate on what information could have been exposed, nor did it say when the hack happened. ASML has claimed having its data stolen by businesses located in China for the second time in two years, having accused Beijing-based tech firm DongFang JingYuan Electron of intellectual property theft in its 2021 annual report. China’s suspected connection in ASML’s trade secrets is noteworthy in light of a recent agreement between the governments of the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan restricting the country’s sale of sophisticated chipmaking gear.   **Also read: South Korean companies on high alert for leaks amid mounting sanctions on China** The contents of this deal have not been released, but it follows prior US pressure in 2018 that convinced the Dutch government to remove ASML’s licence to sell EUV equipment to China. Despite the fact that China is ASML’s third-largest market after Taiwan and South Korea, the US has now prohibited the sale of these EUV equipments to China, affecting both ASML and the Netherlands. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.