Chinese-owned Dutch chipmaker Nexperia Holding hit with cyberattack

By Sarah Jacob and Cagan Koc

Nexperia Holding BV, a Dutch chipmaker owned by Shanghai-listed Wingtech Technology Co., disconnected some of its systems after uncovering a cyberattack last month. 
 

Nexperia is investigating the breach with the help of outside experts after it found an unauthorized third party accessed its servers in March, the company said in an emailed statement on Friday. 
 

The company was last year subject to an investigation by the Dutch government related to its acquisition of chip firm Nowi Energy BV as the state increased its scrutiny of Chinese tech investments. The deal was later approved after the government determined it wasn’t a national security threat. 

 

The Nexperia hack involved theft of customer data of companies including Apple Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and SpaceX, Dutch media outlet RTL Nieuws reported, citing documents related to the hack. 
 

Hundreds of gigabytes of sensitive material such as trade secrets and chip designs were also stolen, according to the outlet, which first reported the breach. 
 

Nexperia declined to comment on the RTL report or the scope of the incident. Spokespeople for Apple, Huawei and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 

A spokesperson for the Dutch data protection authority said it has been informed of the data breach.