Chipmaker TSMC's tools affected by a virus, says problem has now been contained

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said on Saturday a number of its tools had been infected by a virus and the problem had been contained.TSMC, a major supplier for Apple Inc, said a number of tools were infected on Friday.“TSMC has contained the problem and found a solution, and recovery of the tools is in progress,” it said in a statement.Rumours that TSMC had suffered a hacker attack were incorrect, it said.[caption id="attachment_4275617" align="alignnone" width="1280"] A logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is seen at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan October 5, 2017. Picture taken October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Eason Lam - RC1DE6CC6EC0[/caption]The company said there was uneven impact across several of its fabs.“The degree of infection varies by fab. Certain fabs returned to normal in a short period of time, and we expect the other fabs will return to normal in one day.”The company did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on whether the computer virus impacted its weekend production.Major tech companies in Taiwan, which form a crucial part of the global electronics supply chain, usually enter a busier period in the second half of the year ahead of tech gadget launches.