A Dutch university that is a key feeder institution for the semiconductor giant ASML has suspended lessons after reporting a cyber attack over the weekend.
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) said it was suspending lectures and other educational activities, at least until the end of Monday, after it was breached by a cyber attack.
The university said it was investigating whether any data had been stolen while confirming the network breach had “all the hallmarks of a cyber attack” after identifying suspicious activity on its servers.
Students at TU/e won’t be able to use email, Wi-Fi, Canvas, or Microsoft Teams until the network issues have been resolved. Outages have extended to the university’s parking system and the cash registers in its canteens. TU/e said its coffee machines, however, were “basically working.”
“We realize that switching off the network has serious consequences, for our students, employees, but also for other parties on campus,” said TU/e vice-president Patrick Groothuis.
“This necessary intervention was done to prevent worse outcomes. We therefore hope for understanding, and we are doing our utmost to resolve this and have all systems accessible as soon as possible.”
A representative for ASML declined to comment.
TU/e, located just 5 miles from ASML’s global headquarters, has proved fertile ground for recruiting talented students. The pair have had an internship and graduation project in place since 2018.
In May last year, ASML pledged to invest €80 million in TU/e over the next decade for research and the training of PhD students.
The university has been caught in the middle of a battle between the U.S. and China after facing questions about the number of Chinese students it admits each year amid security fears.
The U.S. is pressuring European manufacturers to reduce ties with China to blunt the country’s chip-making ambitions, with TU/e’s recruitment practices falling under the country’s purview.
“I always get questions from Americans about Chinese students,” Robert-Jan Smits, the president of TU/e, told Bloomberg in July.
The Dutch government drafted legislation in 2023 that would bar Chinese students from programs that included sensitive technologies, including semiconductors.
“I’m not saying that we will open the gate to Chinese students,” Smits said. “We are extremely careful there on who we give access to our top-notch sensitive technology.”
“We don’t want our crown jewels to be stolen,” he said.
In February 2023, ASML accused a former China-based employee of stealing confidential chip data, the second such breach linked to China in the space of a year.