{"id":15003,"date":"2024-05-22T14:28:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1406867"},"modified":"2024-05-22T14:28:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:28:14","slug":"chip-wars-asml-could-reportedly-brick-its-machines-in-taiwan-if-china-invades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=15003","title":{"rendered":"Chip wars: ASML could reportedly brick its machines in Taiwan if China invades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chip machine-maker ASML reportedly has the power to remotely disable its equipment in TSMC\u2019s fabs, should China invade Taiwan.<\/p>\n

TSMC is the biggest client of ASML\u2019s EUV lithography systems, which use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths to manufacture the highest grade of semiconductors. These chips enable a wide range of use cases, from smart tech<\/a> like phones and car electronics to (most importantly) AI<\/a> and military applications.<\/p>\n

EUVs are the most advanced machines on the market \u2014 and ASML is the world\u2019s sole manufacturer. This puts the Dutch tech giant (once again<\/a>) at the centre of an escalating chip war<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports<\/a> that US government officials expressed concerns over the consequences of TSMC\u2019s advanced machines (powered by ASML\u2019s EUV technology) falling into the hands of China in the case of an attack on Taiwan.<\/p>\n

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According to the sources, ASML met with the Dutch government and reassured officials that it can remotely disable the machines. Reportedly, the company could enable a shutdown through the software updates needed during maintenance to keep the machines running.<\/p>\n

ASML declined to comment on the matter when TNW reached out. On its website, the company says its embedded software \u201csteers and controls\u201d all of its lithography systems, comprising \u201cmillions of lines of code.\u201d It\u2019s not unlikely that one of those lines contains a kill switch.<\/p>\n

Chip war at the core of geopolitical tensions<\/h2>\n

Chips have emerged as the most sought-after commodity, underpinning all the technologies that keep our economies and world moving. As such, they\u2019re at the heart of the geopolitical chessboard.<\/p>\n

Amid world-wide<\/a> across governmental efforts<\/a> to secure production and supply of chips, tensions are particularly high between the US and China.<\/p>\n

The US hasn\u2019t simply been investing in boosting its domestic chip production, but has also been blocking China from obtaining high-end chips or chip-making equipment. This also includes one of ASML\u2019s DUV (deep ultraviolet) machines<\/a>, used for less advanced chips.<\/p>\n

ASML has been prohibited from selling its most advanced equipment to China since 2019.<\/p>\n

A potential invasion of Taiwan would mean that China would get access to every piece of equipment that both the US and the Netherlands have been seeking to keep out of Beijing\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

It could also hinder both European and US access to critical supply chains. Through TSMC, Taiwan makes approximately 90%<\/a> of the world\u2019s most advanced chips.<\/p>\n

China has long claimed Taiwan as its own territory and is pushing for a peaceful unification<\/a>, although it has never excluded using force. Chinese President Xi has also refuted<\/a> US predictions of an imminent unification by 2027.<\/p>\n

But tensions are rising as Taiwan\u2019s newly-elected President Lai Ching-te is calling on China<\/a> to end war threats and intimidation.<\/p>\n

US Secretary of Commerce Ray Gaimondo recently said<\/a> that a Chinese takeover of TSMC would be \u201cabsolutely devastating\u201d for the country\u2019s semiconductor supply.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s uncertain whether ASML actually has the power to pull of the plug on its machines, should an invasion take place, it\u2019s clear that access to its equipment would further shift the pieces on the board.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chip machine-maker ASML reportedly has the power to remotely disable its equipment in TSMC\u2019s fabs, should China invade Taiwan. TSMC is the biggest client of ASML\u2019s EUV lithography systems, which use extreme…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}