Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has launched legal proceedings against an unknown number of employees as it investigates a potential breach of trade secrets.
The chipmaker confirmed the news this morning, saying it detected unauthorized activity on its network during routine monitoring, and was able to identify the activity early.
An internal investigation ensued, leading to disciplinary action against the employees in question.
The Register asked TSMC about its confidence that trade secrets were stolen, what roles the employees had within the company, and whether there was any evidence to suggest that trade secrets were transmitted outside the company.
However, because the case is under judicial review, the company said it was unable to provide any additional details.
“TSMC maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward any actions that compromise the protection of trade secrets or harm the company’s interests,” a spokesperson said. “Such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.
“We remain committed to safeguarding our core competitiveness and the shared interests of all our employees. To ensure this, we will continue to strengthen our internal management and monitoring systems and will work closely with relevant regulatory authorities as necessary to protect our competitive advantage and operational stability.”
An uphill battle
Trade secret theft is a constant concern for organizations, especially those that work in such lucrative fields. Invariably, with large companies like TSMC, occasional attempts to steal intellectual property succeed.
In just the last few weeks, Apple filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser, a social media personality who, over the course of multiple years, built a following off the back of leaking Apple launches and tech specs well ahead of their intended launch dates.
Apple sued Prosser and one other individual, Michael Ramacciotti, on July 17, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by breaking into a development iPhone belonging to an Apple employee.
Similarly, Google sued an Indian semiconductor engineer in November for allegedly leaking Google Pixel chip designs online.
Chinese national Linwei Ding is also facing a potentially lengthy prison stint – if wrongdoing is proved in a court of law – after Google leveled 14 additional charges against his original four earlier this year, relating to trade secret theft and economic espionage. ®