Virus attack disrupts iPhone chipmaker

TSMC, the sole maker of iPhone’s main processor, says a number of its fabrication tools infected

Acomputer virus halted several Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) factories on 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 today. 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 tomorrow after it has 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.

The incident comes weeks after TSMC cheered investors with a rosy outlook for smartphone demand in the year’s latter half. That helped the market look past a reduced revenue outlook.

Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei had said TSMC’s sales will rise this year by a high singledigit percentage in dollar terms, down from an already reduced projection of about 10 per cent.

“Certain factories returned to normal in a short period of time, and we expect the others will return to normal in one day,” the firms said in its statement.