Rumor: Toshiba’s nand division hit by ransomware

Toshiba is rumored to have been hit by a ransomware attack in Japan. The company denies that its nand production has been temporarily stopped. DigiTimes reported that production had been halted for weeks.

The three to six week shutdown has led to a 100,000 reduction in the number of wafers processed for nand memory, claims DigiTimes. The Taiwanese site often proves to have well-informed sources, but at the same time not every message from DigiTimes is correct. Toshiba told The Register that production in Yokkaichi, Japan, has not been shut down at all. The company did not say whether it was involved in a ransomware attack.

DRAMeXchange, which researches the memory market, has also learned from its sources that DigiTimes’ claim about the purchase of 100,000 wafers and the shutdown of some production lines is incorrect. The research bureau does speak of ‘a lower output than expected due to certain problems with production lines’. According to the agency, the production problems will not have a major effect on the entire nand memory supply. “Even with the small decline in Toshiba’s output, the overall supply to the market continues to grow in the fourth quarter of 2017.” According to DRAMeXchange, there is still a shortage of nand, but the production increase will eventually catch up with demand.

Toshiba Sandisk Yokkaichi Facility