A China-based former employee of ASML Holding NV — a critical cog in the global semiconductor industry — stole data from a software system that the corporation uses to store technical information about its machinery.
The breach occurred in a repository that includes details of the lithography systems critical to producing some of the world’s most advanced chips, said people with knowledge of the situation. It was the first glimpse at the nature of the theft disclosed earlier Wednesday by ASML, which said a former worker in China had stolen confidential information but didn’t elaborate on what kind of data were taken.
