Share this with people that should know this:

The high technology manufacturer ASML has been hacked by alleged Chinese state hackers. The ASML company has claimed that they have been breached by Chinese state hackers and that they are having a hard time to track down the government hackers. They state that they are very difficult to trace down.

The alleged Chinese state hackers have been targeting the Dutch and French branch of the ASML company. Sources claim that the Chinese hackers has gained access to the ASML environment in 2015 and it is still unclear for ASML how big the impact is of the hack.

Another source claims that the Chinese hackers were unable to obtain classified information from the ASML environment. The source claims that it is highly unlikely that classified information has been stolen.

Yet, some other sources claim that the Chinese state hackers were able to obtain information on EUV-technology. In order to craft chips with smaller details, the newest machines from ASML work with extreme ultraviolet, which uses a wavelength of 13,5nm. The technology for making the EUV machines is very valuable for ASML, and thus for the tech industry. Chip manufacturers like Samsung, GlobalFoundries and TSMC depend on this technology.

Dutch security professionals have stated that this might be the work of the PLA UNIT 61486 which is the Chinese government hacking unit.

ASML produces machines for chip production. The company from Veldhoven is the clear market leader in this field and customers of the company include Samsung, Intel and TSMC. The company is the central link in maintaining Moore’s law and thus the progress of the faster, more efficient and cheaper chips.