Secret US chip trackers target evaders of China export ban
The US began curbing sales of cutting-edge chips to China in 2022 over alleged national security concerns. Beijing has called the practice a 'malicious blockade' and accused Washington of 'politicization and weaponization of tech and trade issues.'
The US has turned to using trackers to help build legal cases against individuals and companies that profit by bypassing the export restrictions, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources. Some tracking devices may be hidden in shipment packaging, while smaller versions could be planted inside the items themselves, such as servers, the agency wrote.
The US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is typically involved in such operations, with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations also possibly taking part, Reuters cited its sources as saying.
Following a trade deal with Beijing on Monday, President Donald Trump approved export licenses for Nvidia and AMD, enabling the companies to resume exports of certain semiconductors to China. Sales of Nvidia's H20 graphics processing unit and AMD's MI308 chip were allowed to proceed on the condition that the companies give the US government a 15% share of the related revenue.
However, Beijing has urged domestic firms to avoid using the H20 for sensitive government or national security work over information leak concerns, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
China and the US agreed on Monday to extend a tariff truce by another 90 days, averting the return of triple-digit levies on goods from both nations.
Earlier this year, the trade war between the two powers saw Washington's tariffs on Chinese imports reach 145%, while Beijing's retaliatory levies hit 125%.
Tensions eased in June after a trade framework was reached in London under which the US pledged to ease export controls on certain chips in return for China relaxing restrictions on key rare-earth minerals, which are crucial for microelectronics production.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
9 hours ago
- Russia Today
WATCH US F-22 fighter jets escort Putin's plane
The Kremlin has shared footage of US fighter jets flanking Russian President Vladimir Putin's plane as it headed across the Bering Strait, following a summit with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, in Alaska. The warplanes apparently took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base, which served as the summit's venue. Putin's arrival in the US also featured a ceremonial display of Washington's military power, including a flyover of F-22s and a B-2 nuclear-capable stealth bomber. Trump also welcomed his Russian counterpart on a red carpet, with the two sharing a drive in the US president's armored limousine. Following the summit, the two leaders held a press conference, although they did not announce any deal on the Ukraine conflict. Still, Putin described the meeting as constructive while Trump called it 'warm,' adding the sides are 'pretty close to the end' of the conflict. Trump later urged Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to 'make the deal.' The F-22 Raptor is a fifth generation, stealth air superiority fighter built by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, designed for tasks such as air dominance, precision strike, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Alaska is reportedly home to two squadrons of F-22s, in addition to another two squadrons of more modern F-35 fighters reportedly stationed at the nearby Eielson Air Force Base.
Russia Today
19 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russia's messenger curbs are about protecting its people – former US military contractor
Russia's curbs on certain functions in messaging apps are aimed at protecting its people and preventing Western agencies from gaining access to communications, a former US Department of Defense contractor with US Cyber Command, Kevin Michelizzi, told RT on Friday. Earlier this week, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor announced a partial block on voice calls on Telegram and WhatsApp, citing their use by those perpetuating fraud and also the platforms' refusal to comply with the country's laws. Text chats, file sharing, and other features remain available. The Digital Development Ministry said the measure will help prevent scam calls and stressed that there are no plans to limit other functions. Michelizzi noted that many countries require data to be stored domestically or for intelligence agencies to be given access to it, and Russia's policy is no different. 'They want to protect their people,' he said. Restricting calls, he explained, could stop scammers from tricking elderly people into sending money through various schemes, such as being told a relative had been hurt. 'That's where these large sums of money come from that are being transferred to Ukraine,' he claimed. According to Michelizzi, this kind of fraudulent activity gives Western intelligence agencies an advantage. 'They can spy on whatever their own citizens are saying. They say they don't, but we know the United States does specifically,' he argued. Russia's Federal Security Service has said that Ukrainian intelligence agencies use fraud schemes and psychological pressure to recruit Russian citizens, particularly elderly women, via Telegram and WhatsApp for sabotage missions. The citizens are usually approached by people posing as Russian law enforcement, it said. Russian officials have also raised concerns over extremist and radical content being spread through messaging platforms. The government has been promoting 'digital sovereignty' and encouraging domestic firms to develop secure alternatives.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
US gov't ditches Musk's AI over ‘anti-Semitism'
The US government has dropped Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok from a planned federal technology program following controversy over anti-Semitic content and conspiracy theories produced by the bot, Wired reported on Thursday. Grok, developed by Musk's AI startup xAI, is built into his social media platform X. It offers fact checks, quick context on trending topics, and replies to user arguments. Musk has promoted xAI as a rival to OpenAI and Google's DeepMind, but the chatbot has faced criticism over offensive and inflammatory outputs. According to the report, xAI was in advanced talks with the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency in charge of US government tech procurement, to give federal workers access to its AI tools. Grok had already been added to the GSA's long-term procurement list, enabling agencies to buy it. Earlier this month, the GSA announced partnerships with other AI providers – Anthropic, Google's Gemini, and Box's AI-powered content platform – while reportedly also telling staff to remove xAI's Grok from the offering. Two GSA employees told Wired they believe the chatbot was dropped over its anti-Semitic tirade last month, when it praised Adolf Hitler and called itself 'MechaHitler.' The posts were deleted, and xAI apologized for the 'horrific behavior,' pledging to block hate speech before Grok goes live. The bot also pushed the 'white genocide' conspiracy theory and echoed Holocaust denial rhetoric, which xAI blamed on unauthorized prompt changes. This week, it was briefly suspended from X after stating that Israel and the US were committing genocide in Gaza – allegations both countries reject. Musk has continued to praise the chatbot, recently writing: 'East, West, @Grok is the best.' The move to drop Grok comes as part of a broader push by the administration of US President Donald Trump to modernize the federal government under an action plan unveiled last month that provides for less regulation and wider adoption of AI. However, the rapid growth of AI has triggered concern about its potential to spread misinformation, reinforce bias, and operate without accountability. Experts say that unless strong safeguards are in place, poorly moderated AI tools could also expose children to harmful or inappropriate content.
