-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TPE:2330), or TSMC's, engineer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a court found him guilty of leaking trade secrets related to the company's advanced 2-nanometre chip technology under Taiwan's National Security Act, Taipei times reported Tuesday.
The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court also handed prison terms of two to six years to three other former engineers, while another defendant received a suspended sentence and fine.
The case also implicated Tokyo Electron Taiwan, which was fined NT$150 million with conditions for partial suspension. Prosecutors said sensitive information, including etching equipment data, was improperly accessed and used to support equipment development for advanced chip production, reportedly.
TSMC reported the breach in July 2025 following an internal probe and reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on trade secret violations while tightening internal safeguards, the news outlet said.
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