ASML-backed Dutch university caught in US-China chip war halts classes after cyberattack

The world’s top producer of advanced chipmaking tools invests heavily in Eindhoven University of Technology to instruct future employees

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An assembly engineer works on a DUV lithography system at ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:59am, 13 Jan 2025

A top Dutch technical university that is a key talent feeder for chip-machine maker ASML Holding has shut down its computer network after a cyberattack.

Eindhoven University of Technology, which is located about eight kilometres (five miles) from ASML’s global headquarters, said there would be no lectures and educational activities at least until Tuesday.

Switching off the network was a “necessary intervention to prevent worse outcomes”, Patrick Groothuis, the university’s vice-president, said in a statement on Sunday.

Experts were currently investigating the nature and extent of the hack, the university said in the statement. Officials noticed “a lot of suspicious activity” on the institution’s servers late Saturday, and there had been no contact with the hackers whose identity was not yet known, Ivo Jongsma, the university’s spokesman, told Bloomberg News by phone.

“We are still looking into whether any data has been stolen,” he said, adding the university would share an update on the attack on Monday.

Eindhoven University of Technology has been caught in the crosshairs of the US-China chip war as Washington seeks to limit Beijing’s ability to produce semiconductors, Bloomberg News reported in July.