The Web site of Hon Hai Technology Group’s (鴻海科技集團) semiconductor parts manufacturing affiliate Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc (京鼎精密) yesterday appeared to have been hijacked by a ransomware group, displaying a message threatening to release the personal information of the company’s customers and employees.
It is the first time a major local business has been targeted in a Web site defacement attack.
“Your data is stolen and encrypted,” a message at the top of Foxsemicon’s Web site stated, adding that it held 5 terabytes of the company’s information and would publish it online if a ransom was not paid.
Photo: screen grab from Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc’s Web site
“If you are a Foxsemicon customer, we have all your personal data,” it said. “All your personal data will be freely available on the Internet if Foxsemicon not pays [sic] money.”
It also included a threatening message for employees of the semiconductor equipment company.
“If your management does not contact us, you will lose your job, as we are able to completely destroy Foxsemicon with no possibility of recovery,” it said.
Photo: CNA
In a company statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Foxsemicon said it recovered its Web site in the afternoon, soon after detecting the attack, adding that it was working with security experts.
However, as of press time last night, the firm’s English-language Web site remained inaccessible, displaying the ransomware message, while many portions of its Mandarin-language site, including corporate information and financial statements, also appeared to be inaccessible.
The company’s preliminary assessment showed that the incident should not significantly affect its operations, Foxsemicon said in the statement.
The company did not disclose any information about the ransom demanded by the hackers. It also did not state whether any personal information of its customers or employees was leaked.
Foxsemicon is about 15.22 percent owned by Hon Hai through its subsidiaries. Applied Materials Taiwan (台灣應用材料) holds an 8.36 percent share in the company.
Global weekly cyberattacks rose 3 percent annually during the first three quarters of last year, a report released by Check Point Research showed.
Taiwan was the most hacked area with an average of 1,509 attacks per week.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
The popular Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) arbitrage trade might soon see a change in dynamics that could affect the trading of the US listing versus the local one. And for anyone who wants to monetize the elevated premium, Goldman Sachs Group Inc highlights potential trades. A note from the bank’s sales desk published on Friday said that demand for TSMC’s Taipei-traded stock could rise as Taiwan’s regulator is considering an amendment to local exchange-traded funds’ (ETFs) ownership. The changes, which could come in the first half of this year, could push up the current 30 percent single-stock weight limit
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
RSS