A new Reuters article describes new threats to Apple chipmaker TSMCas a result of further reported actions by the Chinese government.
See also: South Korea turns to Russia due to chip supply chain crisis
Apple CEO Tim Cookreportedly told officials he was sleeping "with one eye open" after a classified CIA on Taiwan, and there's no sign he'll be sleeping any better anytime soon.
China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and has conducted military exercises that have included practicing a complete blockade of the island, leading to fears it is planning an invasion.
It was suggested in 2022 that the lukewarm global response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine would likely embolden China. US and UK security agencies issued the same warning a few months later. But a potential Chinese invasion is not the only threat to TSMC.
A Reuters report suggests that Taiwan faces three further threats to its independence and particularly to its global leadership in chip manufacturing.
See also: Terafab: Elon Musk wants to build a chip production factory
First, China has increased its efforts to lure TSMC personnel, in the apparent hope that they will bring with them inside knowledge of the chipmaker’s advanced processes. Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said that China “continues to use indirect channels to attract Taiwanese talent, steal technology, and procure controlled goods, with the aim of acquiring key technologies and products such as Taiwan’s advanced process chips.”
Second, Taiwan has suffered an exceptionally high number of hacking attempts, many of which were against government networks, but TSMC is also likely to be targeted by them. Taiwan's Government Services Network received more than 170 million intrusion attempts in the first quarter of this year.
Finally, the Taiwanese government suspects that China may be planning to interfere in its upcoming elections. “It cannot be ruled out that the Communist Party of China is preparing the ground to interfere in Taiwan’s elections at the end of the year, with the aim of expanding intelligence collection, surveillance and data theft,” the report said.
Apple is working to address both issues, with an increasing percentage of iPhone production now taking place in India instead of China. The company has also encouraged and supported TSMC in building chip manufacturing plants in Arizona.
See also: Vulnerability in MediaTek chips affects Android smartphones
However, there is a limit to how far it can go when it comes to chips. Apple previously split its orders between TSMC and Samsung, but that hasn’t been possible for years due to Taiwan’s strong lead in small-process chip manufacturing. There is only one company in the world capable of making Apple’s latest chips, and the vulnerability of that arrangement is a price the iPhone maker has to pay.
