Semiconductor manufacturer Microchip Technology announced that some of its production facilities had been affected by a ransomware attack.
The US-based chipmaker made the confession earlier this week not through a press release, but by filing a document required by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it is a publicly traded company.
The company acknowledged in mandatory filings that a ransomware attack earlier this month paralyzed its manufacturing operations and may impact future production. Microchip Technology noted that the attack originated on its IT network, a common and troubling trend for many companies that operate both public-facing IT networks and business-critical OT networks.
“On August 17, 2024, Microchip Technology Inc. detected potentially suspicious activity related to its information technology systems. Upon detecting the issue, the company began taking steps to evaluate, contain and remediate the potentially unauthorized activity,” Microchip Technology Inc. said in announcing the attack.
“On August 19, 2024, we determined that an unauthorized third party had disrupted the use of certain of our servers and certain business operations. We promptly took additional steps to address the incident, including isolating the affected systems, shutting down certain systems, and initiating an investigation with the assistance of external cybersecurity advisors.”
Arizona-based Microchip serves a variety of sectors but primarily provides chips for embedded systems and controllers for industrial and manufacturing systems.
The company has not provided details about when it might return to full operations. Ransomware-related outages are particularly troubling for semiconductor manufacturers because shutting down and restarting a semiconductor manufacturing facility is not an easy task, and the time it takes to get operations up and running again is likely to impact revenue.
“As a result of the incident, some of our manufacturing facilities are operating at lower than normal levels and our ability to process orders is currently being affected. The company is working hard to bring the affected parts of its IT systems back online, restore normal business operations and mitigate the impact of the incident,” the semiconductor maker said.
“Our investigation is ongoing, so the full extent, nature and impact of the incident are not yet known. As of the date of filing this report, we have not yet determined whether this incident may have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.”
