UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

FORM 8‑K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  February 11, 2019

VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Terminal Drive, Plainview, New York 11803

(Address of principal executive offices)

(516) 677‑0200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8‑K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐     Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐     Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a‑12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a‑12)

☐     Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d‑2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d‑2(b))

☐     Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e‑4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e‑4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b‑2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b‑2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

 

Item 8.01    Other Events

On November 1, 2018, Veeco Instruments Inc. (the “Company”) announced an attack on its computer systems.  Upon learning of the attack, forensic experts were promptly engaged to assist with the investigation. The Company also notified law enforcement of the incident.

The investigation, which has largely been completed, determined that the Company’s computer systems were accessed by what appears to be a highly-sophisticated actor at various times over a period of years.  It appears that proprietary and confidential information of the Company and certain personal information of the Company’s employees was accessed and may have been compromised as a result of the incident.  Based on the evidence available at this time, the extent and impact of the compromise cannot be determined.  The Company notified employees of this incident.  The Company is continuing to analyze the incident, along with appropriate remediation of the Company’s computer systems.  That analysis and the related remediation efforts could ultimately reveal that additional information was revealed or compromised.

Based on the evidence available at this time, the Company does not know if or when it will be able to determine the potential impact to the Company, whether it will be able to identify who is responsible for this attack or whether it will be able to pursue legal action or other remedies to protect any compromised information or recover damages related to the attack.  This attack, including the expenses incurred to address it, may have an adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and/or financial condition.  In addition, this attack may have caused the loss or misuse of proprietary and confidential information of the Company or others, result in litigation and potential liability, damage the Company’s reputation and/or otherwise harm its business.

The Company takes the security of its information, and that relating to its employees, customers and trading partners, very seriously and has taken steps to mitigate the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future. 

The Company is continuing to cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement.

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Veeco’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Veeco’s actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the impact of additional information with respect to the attack on its computer systems, including the scope of the intrusion and the type of information accessed; the possible loss of key employees, customers, or suppliers; and intellectual property risks if Veeco is unable to secure and maintain trade secret, patent or other intellectual property protection for the intellectual property used in its products. Information on these and additional risks, uncertainties, and other information affecting Veeco’s business and operating results are contained in Veeco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof.  Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that may arise after the date of the forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

 

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.