Chipmaker Intel Corp. blames internal error on data leak

It said its corporate network was not compromised.

Licensing technology could help Intel avoid major investments in rivals' factories that outsourcing deals would likely entail. (REUTERS)

The computer chipmaker Intel Corp. on Friday blamed an internal error for a data leak that prompted it to release a quarterly earnings report early. 

The company's chief financial officer, George Davis, had earlier told The Financial Times that Intel published its earnings ahead of the stock market's close on Thursday because it believed a hacker stole financially sensitive information from the site.

The company's quarterly results were originally scheduled to be published hours later after the close of trading on Wall Street Thursday.

“An infographic was hacked off of our PR newsroom site,” the newspaper quoted Davis as saying. It quoted an unnamed company spokesperson as saying Intel was notified that the graphic was circulating outside the company.

Early access to such information could benefit a stock trader.

On Friday, Intel issued a statement saying it had determined that no hack occurred.

It said "the URL of our earnings infographic was inadvertently made publicly accessible before publication of our earnings and accessed by third parties. Once we became aware of the situation we promptly issued our earnings announcement. Intel's network was not compromised and we have adjusted our process to prevent this in the future.”

The company's stock price closed down more than 9% Friday.