TSMC confirms staff data was exposed after a hacker offered 46,000 employee records for 3 BTC
TSMC said there is no evidence its own systems were breached, that it has notified affected current and former employees, and that it is working with a cloud service provider, investigators and outside security firms; the seller claims 6.9GB of records and threatens to publish them if no buyer appears within a week.
Why it matters
The company points to an outside cloud vendor rather than its own network, but has not named the provider or said how many people were affected. FTV reports that the 499-record sample posted on DarkForums and BreachForums carries 19 fields per person, including ID numbers, addresses, bank details and emergency contacts, which security experts warn could fuel targeted scams against staff and their families. FTV says the case follows a string of serious security incidents at Taiwanese agencies and firms. Watch whether the full set is published after the one-week deadline.
Key facts
- Seller claims 46,000 TSMC employee records, 6.9GB
- Asking price: 3 BTC (about NT$7.4 million)
- Sample file tsmc.txt: 499 records, 19 fields each
- Posted on DarkForums and BreachForums
- TSMC: no evidence its systems were breached
- TSMC is working with a cloud service provider, investigators and third-party security firms