Apple Chip Supplier TSMC Impacted By Virus Attack, May Affect A12 Chip Production

Several factories of Apple supplier TSMC were forced to suspend production yesterday due to the invasion of computer viruses, but the detail...

Several factories of Apple supplier TSMC were forced to suspend production yesterday due to the invasion of computer viruses, but the details are still unclear. TSMC is ramping up chip production for the new iPhones that will be launched this fall. (Via Bloomberg)

Though the problem has been controlled and some of the production work has been resumed, many of the company's factories will not start production until Sunday. TSMC also added that the impact of the incident varies from factory to factory. The chipmaker doesn't believe the virus was caused by hackers, but it's unclear who is responsible for it.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Lora Ho said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg that this was not the first time TSMC had been attacked by a virus, but this was the first time TSMC had stopped production due to such attacks.

However, she declined to describe the specific impact of the suspension, including whether it affected the production of the chips as well as the impact on revenue. As early as May, it was reported that TSMC has begun mass production of the 7-nanometer A12 processor, which will be used in this year's iPhone models.

Image Via Redmond Pie