NVIDIA responds to chip backdoor issue

According to a message from the Weixin official account "China Internet Information Office," recently, NVIDIA's computing chips were exposed to serious security issues. On July 31, the State Internet Information Office held a meeting with NVIDIA, requiring the company to explain and submit relevant proof materials regarding the security risks of backdoors in H20 computing chips sold to China.

On July 31 local time, an NVIDIA spokesperson stated in a statement: "Cybersecurity is crucial for us. There are no 'backdoors' in NVIDIA's chips that would allow anyone to access or control them remotely."

Previously, U.S. lawmakers called for the requirement that advanced chips exported from the United States must be equipped with "tracking and positioning" functions. U.S. artificial intelligence experts revealed that NVIDIA's computing chips have already matured in terms of "tracking and positioning" and "remote shutdown" technologies.

Observer Network's technology commentator pointed out that the statements by U.S. lawmakers in the news article have factual basis, and the U.S. is attempting to strengthen technological pressure on China through legislation.

According to Observer Network's verification, currently, the U.S. Congress is indeed discussing the mandatory installation of location tracking modules in chips by companies such as NVIDIA. The legislative agenda is the "Chip Security Act." Both the Senate and House versions of the bill were introduced this May and are still in the proposal stage, not yet passed.

The bill requires the U.S. Department of Commerce to enforce "chip security mechanisms" for "covered integrated circuit products" under export controls to prevent unauthorized transfer, theft, or use. "Chip security mechanisms" are defined as security features enabled through software, firmware, or hardware, or physical security mechanisms, including "location verification functions," used to track the geographical location of chips or detect if they have been illegally transferred.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce must cooperate with the U.S. Department of Defense to study other potential security mechanisms and assess the cost, performance impact, potential vulnerabilities, and feasibility of anti-tampering technology each year for the next three years.

One of the main proponents of the House version of the Chip Security Act, Representative Bill Foster from Illinois, is a rare "scientist legislator" who is very familiar with chip manufacturing technology. It was he who first proposed in Congress to install "digital reins" on controlled chips, namely, location tracking functions and remote shutdown functions, which can immediately disable the chips once they are found to be illegally transported.

Bill Foster has repeatedly claimed that this solution is technically quite mature and easy to implement.

"In the context of increasingly fierce domestic competition, the National Internet Information Office's review of the H20 security risks may further weaken NVIDIA's market share in China, and the recovery of H20 immediate sales may also face delays," said Observer Network's technology commentator, "This also aligns with China's efforts to accelerate the replacement of domestic semiconductors and achieve technological self-reliance under U.S. export control pressures. Additionally, the timing of this meeting adds leverage for China in the Sino-U.S. trade negotiations."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839213269506060/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.