ASML is a critical company for the semiconductor market, broadly speaking, this Dutch company is the only one capable of creating the lithography machines used in the most advanced chip manufacturing processes, including the EUV technology used in current chips that They manufacture Samsung, Intel or TSMC for example. By using part of US technologies, the US veto prohibits this company from selling new generation machines to China, which is why the Asian country is far behind in terms of chip manufacturing.
Now, the own ASML has denounced in its results report that a former employee of one of his sub-companies in China, in charge of maintaining the information management software for lithographic machines (Siemens Teamcenter), has stolen confidential proprietary information, Specifically, he would have stolen details about the specifications of the company’s most advanced lithography. Although ASML assures that they do not believe that it affects their business, they could have violated some of the export controls and veto the Asian giant.
The US authorities have already been informed and have shown their deep concern over a case of economic espionage.
For now No charges have been filed against any Chinese entity or company, but ASML has already accused a Beijing company of stealing their business secrets last year.
Translated ASML statement:
We have experienced an unauthorized misappropriation of data related to proprietary technology by a (now) former employee in China. We immediately initiated a comprehensive internal review. Based on our initial findings, we do not believe that misappropriation affects our business. However, as a result of the security incident, certain export control regulations may have been violated. Therefore, ASML has reported the incident to the relevant authorities. We are implementing additional corrective measures in light of this incident.
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