Most GlobalWafers plants to resume shipments Tuesday after hacker attacks

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) Taiwan-based silicon wafer supplier GlobalWafers Co. said on Monday that shipments from most of its factories that suffered hacker attacks last week are expected to resume Tuesday.

In a statement, GlobalWafers, the world's third largest silicon wafer maker, said information systems operated by some of its factories suffered hacker attacks on June 12.

GlobalWafers said its cybersecurity mechanism activated when the attacks were detected and the company later also entrusted outside cybersecurity experts to boost its defenses and restore the targeted information systems.

A through investigation confirmed critical information was not accessed, GlobalWafers said.

To lower the risk, GlobalWafers said it partially shut down its operating systems during the initial phase of the attacks, impacting production and shipments at certain plants.

However, shipments were partly restored last week and most are expected to return to normal Tuesday, GlobalWafers said.

As the damage varied from factory to factory, insurance compensation is still being calculated, GlobalWafers said, adding that the company will continue to upgrade web communications and strengthen information safety infrastructure.

GlobalWafers did not disclose how many factories were attacked or the locations of the affected plants.

On its website, GlobalWafers said it runs 18 sites in nine countries around the world including Taiwan, China, the United States, Japan, Denmark, Korea, Italy, Malaysia and Singapore.

The company has been keen to expand through mergers and acquisitions in recent years, boosting its ranking to No. 3 in the world.