Advantest Corporation has confirmed that personally identifiable information was stolen during a ransomware attack earlier this year, and the Japanese semiconductor test equipment maker has begun notifying affected individuals. The company disclosed the breach in a data breach notification dated October 6, 2026. According to that notification, an unauthorized third party accessed Advantest systems and extracted data from its servers in February 2026. The extracted data included personally identifiable information belonging to the recipients of the letters.
The notification does not specify whether the compromised data belonged to customers, employees, partners, or some combination of those groups. It also does not state how many people are affected. Advantest did not respond to questions about the number of affected individuals as of publication.
The incident first came to light on February 15, when a threat actor breached Advantest's network and gained access to some of its systems. At that time, the company said hackers had accessed parts of its network and deployed a ransomware payload, but it could not determine whether customer or employee data had been affected. The October notification resolves that earlier uncertainty by confirming that data was in fact taken.
Advantest says it has no information indicating that the compromised data has been leaked or otherwise misused. The company nonetheless acknowledges an elevated risk of identity theft and fraud for the people whose information was exposed.
To address that risk, Advantest is offering free identity theft, credit, and web monitoring services through Kroll. The offer covers 18 months, and recipients of the notification letters have until January 4, 2027, to activate it.
Beyond enrolling in the monitoring service, Advantest recommends that affected individuals keep a close watch on their accounts and financial statements for suspicious activity and report any unfamiliar transactions to their bank. The company also advises caution regarding phishing attempts, urging people not to click links or open attachments and never to send money or share sensitive information in response to requests made by email or text.
As of publication, no ransomware group had publicly claimed responsibility for targeting Advantest.
The confirmation places Advantest among the semiconductor industry suppliers dealing with the aftermath of a network intrusion, and it means the individuals named in the notification letters must decide whether to enroll in the Kroll monitoring offer before the January 4, 2027 deadline.
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