Apple manufacturing partner TSMC suffers data breach : Tech Live Trends

TSMC, Apple’s main manufacturing partner, )has confirmed it’s experienced a data breach after being listed as a victim by the LockBit ransomware gang, reports TechCrunch.

The Russia-linked LockBit ransomware gang listed TSMC on its dark web leak site yesterday. The gang is threatening to publish data stolen from the company, which commands 60% of the global foundry market, unless the company pays a US$70 million ransom demand, reports TechCrunch. This is one of the largest known ransom demands in history, according to William Thomas, a cyber threat intelligence researcher at Equinix.

“Upon review, this incident has not affected TSMC’s business operations, nor did it compromise any TSMC’s customer information,” a TSMC spokesperson told TechCrunch. “After the incident, TSMC has immediately terminated its data exchange with this concerned supplier in accordance with the Company’s security protocols and standard operating procedures.”

LockBit hasn’t specified the amount of data it managed to lift from the company, but it has set an August 6 deadline for payment of the ransom, or it claims it will release the data onto the dark web for all to see.

LockBit is a Russian ransomware gang that emerged onto the cybercriminal landscape in 2019. Up to the first quarter of 2023, LockBit has had a total of 1,653 alleged victims, according to a report released by the US cybersecurity agency CISA.