1y ago

ASML could brick Taiwan's chipmaking machines in case of uninvited guests

www.theregister.com

ASML said to have 'kill switch' for chipmaking machines

35 comments

I had nothing to do with this.
- Based
- -1000 social credits.
I mean, one of Taiwan’s last-resort contingency plans is to basically blow up all their chip foundries and the machinery inside of it. They are absolutely willing to go scorched earth if their back is against the wall and there’s no hope of a successful defense.
- you're mistaken if you think PLA priority is any of the Chip manufacturing fabs.
  Priority taking the whole of Taiwan under the control of the mainland Chinese government.
  
  If the PRC somehow successfully takes Taiwan, but in doing so, utterly destroys the vast majority of the world’s cutting edge chip foundry lines for cpu + gpu + ram + nvme, it’s a pretty safe bet that the rest of the world will be absolutely fucking livid with China at the very least, because it would cause EVERYONE’S economy to crash.
- Damn, I wonder if China's thought of that? Like infiltrators and advance specops to secure high value infrastructure? Probably not.
Too bad ASML is not allowed to sell to China anymore and the Chinese are making their own machines :)
- .ml don't shill for China challenge:
  
  does it offend you when people have opinions different than yours?
- ASML’s machines are very advanced using a lot of specialized parts (who’s export is probably also banned) and taking a lot of skilled labour to make. China will probably be able to eventually get there, but it’s going to be a while.
  
  https://www.gizmochina.com/2024/05/14/smic-achieves-success-in-5nm-node-that-will-make-up-huawei-mate-70-processors-report/
  Already happening.
  
  Like a loooong fucking while. Or I mean they could just stick with what they got.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Netherlands-based ASML is said to have reassured the Dutch government that it can remotely disable its most advanced chipmaking machines should such an invasion happen, at least according to Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources claimed to be familiar with the matter.
It isn't clear how ASML could remotely disable equipment sitting in a factory in Taiwan, but it is understood that the huge and complex photolithography machines require regular servicing and maintenance to keep them running.
ASML declined to comment on the question of a "kill switch," but confirmed to The Register that its equipment requires high maintenance to keep it operational, as does most of the machinery in a semiconductor plant.
Andrew Buss, IDC Senior Research Director in EMEA, agreed that ASML's chipmaking machines would not keep running for long without constant attention.
"These advanced machines are installed and run in co-operation with customers given their complexity and overall size, and just keeping them going requires ongoing active engagement, so they would likely not last long without manufacturers' support anyhow," he said.
Back in 2022, a US Army War College paper proposed that Taiwan should deter China by planning to completely destroy its semiconductor manufacturing capability in the event of an invasion by Xi Jinping's armed forces.
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35 comments