TSMC Confirms Employee Data Leak Through Cloud Provider, Hackers Reportedly Demand 3 Bitcoins to Withhold 46,000 Records
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) said employee information was exposed through an external cloud provider, while hackers reportedly demanded 3 Bitcoins (CRYPTO: BTC) to withhold the records.
TSMC said current and former employee data appeared without authorization on an external website. The company disclosed the exposure in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and said its internal systems were not compromised. Production operations and customer information were also unaffected, according to the company.
The company said it notified affected employees and is working with the cloud provider, authorities and an outside cybersecurity firm as the investigation continues.
Hackers claimed to hold approximately 46,000 employee records totaling about 6.9 gigabytes. The files were reportedly offered on DarkForums and BreachForums for 3 Bitcoin, according to Business Next.
The sellers allegedly gave prospective buyers one week to make an offer before publishing the dataset. A sample file reportedly contained 499 records across 19 information fields.
TSMC did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Cyberattacks Raise Broader Security Fears
The exposure follows a broader sequence of cyber incidents involving Taiwan-linked systems. In August, suspected China-linked hackers used autonomous AI agents to target Taiwan’s government systems in a cyberattack identified by Israeli AI firm Dream. Over four days in July, the tool deployed up to eight agents simultaneously, compromised at least 85 government accounts and extracted more than 2,500 personnel records. The attack later expanded to Taiwan’s nuclear safety agency and at least seven energy companies, using AI agents to identify vulnerabilities and adapt tactics when blocked.
The report also follows the $6.3 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, the largest such theft on record. Blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis suspect North Korea-linked cybercrime group TraderTraitor was behind the Binance hack, citing similarities to previous attacks, including the $1.5 billion Bybit theft. The attacker moved funds across multiple blockchains within a 20-minute window. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was investigating North Korea’s possible involvement.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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