Offenders sentenced up to 10 years for spying on TSMC

3 hours ago

A former TSMC engineer sentenced to 10 years for leaking trade secrets related to the 2-nanometer process, convicted under the National Security Act.
Additional TSMC engineers received sentences of 3 and 2 years; a Tokyo Electron Taiwan employee got 6 years; another received a suspended sentence and fine.
Tokyo Electron Taiwan fined NT$150 million, with suspension conditions including compensation to TSMC and the treasury; company failed to prevent breaches.
Prosecutors found that confidential information, including etching equipment secrets for 2nm production, was photographed and shared to aid Tokyo Electron.
TSMC detected irregularities internally in July last year, reported the case, leading to investigations and indictments for theft of trade secrets.
Tokyo Electron stated no evidence of 2nm tech leakage to third parties, but investigators found TSMC secrets in its cloud storage below 14nm nodes.
TSMC maintains a zero-tolerance policy on trade secret violations, pledging to strengthen internal controls to protect technological advantage.
Other news: China criticized Japan and EU over South China Sea remarks and accused Japan of provocation in the Taiwan Strait; Taiwan condemned China's pressure leading to cancellation of a digital human rights conference in Zambia; TSMC projects 70% compound annual growth for 2nm capacity from 2024 to 2028; Taiwan's Q1 GDP grew 13.69% year-on-year, driven by AI demand and exports surge.

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