TSMC Confirms Employee Data Appeared on External Website Without Authorization
Key Facts
TSMC said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that data belonging to some current and former employees had appeared on an external website without authorization. The company said it had so far found no evidence its systems were breached. It said the information matched data stored in the systems of a cloud service provider. It added that the information was not related to the company's operations or customer data. The company thus described the incident as involving employee information, while continuing to examine how it was made available.
TSMC said it had notified affected employees and was providing them with necessary support. It had also engaged the cloud service provider, relevant investigative authorities and an independent cybersecurity firm. The parties are working together to establish the facts and take necessary action, the company said. This includes verifying how the information appeared on the external website, according to the filing. The company provided no further details in the filing about the number of employees involved or when the data became available.
The filing came after claims circulated that records belonging to company employees were being offered for sale, but TSMC's statement confirmed only that some employee data had appeared without authorization. The filing did not confirm the number of records or claims of a ransom demand, and did not link the incident to the stock's movement. The company's U.S.-listed shares, trading under the ticker TSM, closed at $413.35 on November 11, 2026, according to EL7 data. A Taiwan market brief published on November 12 showed the U.S. depositary receipt rose 4.25% in the previous session to the same price.
The incident comes as the company reported strong growth in its quarterly business. Third-quarter 2026 revenue was about $46.72 billion, up 41.2% year over year and 16.2% from the second quarter. Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said third-quarter business was supported by strong demand for advanced manufacturing technologies. The company added that it expected demand to continue in the fourth quarter, with 2-nanometer technology production accelerating significantly. This operating performance places the data disclosure among developments involving employees, while the company said the information was unrelated to its operations or customer data.
TSMC forecast fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of between $52.3 billion and $54.3 billion. Monthly consolidated revenue in October was 586,890 million New Taiwan dollars, up 59.7% from the same month a year earlier. The company set December 10, 2026, as the date for announcing November monthly sales. Meanwhile, it said it was continuing to work with the service provider, investigative authorities and cybersecurity firm to establish the facts and take necessary action. The filing did not specify a public timeline for completing this work.