If China invades Taiwan, ASML and TSMC can disable chip machines remotely

TMSC and its Dutch chip machine supplier ASML have made joint plans to remotely disable the machines in the event of an invasion of Taiwan by China.

Diederik Baazil, Cagan Koc, and Jordan Robertson for Bloomberg News:
‎

Officials from the US government have privately expressed concerns to both their Dutch and Taiwanese counterparts about what happens if Chinese aggression escalates into an attack on the island responsible for producing the vast majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

ASML reassured officials about its ability to remotely disable the machines when the Dutch government met with the company on the threat, two others said. The Netherlands has run simulations on a possible invasion in order to better assess the risks, they added.

The remote shut-off applies to Netherlands-based ASML’s line of extreme ultraviolet machines, known within the industry as EUVs, for which TSMC is its single biggest client. EUVs harness high-frequency light waves to print the smallest microchip transistors in existence — creating chips that have artificial-intelligence uses as well as more sensitive military applications.

China has long claimed that the island of Taiwan is its territory, with President Xi Jinping both advocating for unification and refusing to rule out a military intervention. The superpower has been building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II and a top US admiral testified in March that it’s readying to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027.

Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
‎
MacDailyNews Note: Around 90% of the world’s most advanced chips are currently made in Taiwan.
‎
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!

Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.

The post If China invades Taiwan, ASML and TSMC can disable chip machines remotely appeared first on MacDailyNews.