Semiconductor equipment maker MKS Instruments is investigating a ransomware event that occurred on February 3 and impacted its production-related systems, the company said in a filing with the US Security and Exchange Commission.
MKS Instruments is an Andover, Massachusetts-based provider of subsystems for semiconductor manufacturing, wafer level packaging, package substrate and printed circuit boards.
An email sent to MKS Instruments seeking more information about the attack remained unanswered, while the company’s website continued to be inaccessible at the time of writing, with a error notification that read, “Unfortunately, www.mks.com is experiencing an unscheduled outage. Please check back again at a later time.”
“On February 3, 2023, MKS Instruments identified that it had become subject to a ransomware event and took immediate action to activate its incident response and business continuity protocols to contain the incident,” Kathleen F Burke, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at MKS Instruments, said in the SEC filing.
The company said it has notified law enforcement authorities while it investigates and assesses the impact of the incident by engaging “appropriate incident response professionals.”
