Advantest Corporation, the Japanese technology company and prominent manufacturer of testing equipment for the semiconductor industry, has been hit by a ransomware attack.
In a statement released on February 19, the company, which is a supplier to major chip producers including Samsung, said it was “responding to a cybersecurity incident involving ransomware that may have impacted certain systems within its network.”
Headquartered in Tokyo, Advantest employees over 7500 people and has offices in locations around the world, including Munich, Germany and San Jose, California.
The company describes itself as “a global leader in semiconductor test solutions” and it tests chips used to power services including 5G communications, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, autonomous vehicles and high-performance computing, including AI and machine learning systems.
Advantest said that it detected “unusual activity” within its IT environment on February 15 which resulted in the immediate deployment of its “incident response protocols”.
This included isolation of the affected systems and “leading third-party cybersecurity experts” being brought in to aid with investigation and containment of the incident.
“Preliminary findings appear to indicate that an unauthorized third party may have gained access to portions of the company’s network and deployed ransomware,” the company said.
As of February 23, a data breach has not been confirmed, but Advantest said it is “dedicated to transparency” and would provide regular updates about the ongoing investigation.
“If our investigation determines that customer or employee data was affected, we will notify impacted persons directly and provide guidance on protective measures,” the statement added.
Advantest has not confirmed which IT services have been compromised with ransomware or how the incident could impact the semiconductor tester’s services or its customers.
Infosecurity contacted Advantest for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Ransomware remains one of the most significant and most disruptive cybersecurity threats facing companies around the globe today. Japan was also the target of one of the most significant ransomware attacks of 2025, which saw Japanese brewer Asahi halt production of beer to the extent that retailers faced shortages.
The Asahi ransomware attack was work of the Qilin ransomware group. At the time of publication, so cyber criminal operation has claimed responsibility for the Advantest ransomware attack.
