Computer Virus Cripples IPhone Chipmaker TSMC Plants
Computer Virus Cripples IPhone Chipmaker TSMC Plants
Debby Wu 4 August 2018, 7:07 AM 4 August 2018, 12:54 AM
(Bloomberg) -- A computer virus halted several Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. factories Friday night, dealing the company one
of its most severe disruptions as it ramps up chipmaking for Apple Inc.’s next
iPhones.
The sole maker of the iPhone’s main processor said a
number of its fabrication tools had been infected, and while it had contained
the problem and resumed some production, several of its factories won’t restart
till at least Sunday. The virus wasn’t introduced by a hacker, the company added
in a statement.
It’s unclear who targeted TSMC, the world’s biggest
contract manufacturer of chips for companies including Apple and Qualcomm Inc.
It’s the first time a virus had ever brought down a TSMC facility, recalling
the WannaCry cyberattacks of 2017 that forced corporations around the world to
suspend operations as they rooted out the ransomware. TSMC is working on
solutions now but said the degree of infection varied from factory to factory,
and that it will provide more information Monday after it’s assessed the
situation.
“TSMC has been attacked by viruses before, but this is
the first time a virus attack has affected our production lines,” Chief
Financial Officer Lora Ho told Bloomberg News by phone. She wouldn’t talk about
how much revenue it would lose as a result of the disruption, or whether the
facilities affected were involved in making iPhone chips.
It’s unclear how the lost days of output would affect the
Taiwanese firm, the latest to fall prey to a growing scourge. Globally, cyber
crime could cost businesses as much as $8 trillion in damage over the next five
years, according to the World Economic Forum. Mark Li, an analyst at Sanford C.
Bernstein, said he thinks the impact will be limited and that probably only a
small amount of chips would be affected.
The implications are also unclear for Apple. The iPhone
maker last week surpassed a market value of $1 trillion, largely on the
strength of sales for its pioneering smartphone. The U.S. company has employed
in the past foundries owned by Samsung Electronics Co., its rival in global
mobile devices.
The incident comes weeks after TSMC cheered investors
with a rosy outlook for smartphone demand in the latter half of the year. That
helped the market look past a reduced revenue outlook. A bellwether for the
chip industry as well as an early indicator of iPhone demand, it heads into its
busiest quarters grappling with waning enthusiasm for the high-powered chips
used to mine digital currencies. Chief Executive Officer C. C. Wei had said
TSMC’s sales will rise this year by a high single-digit percentage in U.S.
dollar terms, down from an already reduced projection of about 10 percent.
“Certain factories returned to normal in a short period
of time, and we expect the others will return to normal in one day,” the
company said in its Saturday statement.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
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