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Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Nvidia warns that any GPU 'kill switch' or 'backdoor' into its AI chips would 'fracture trust in US technology'
Nvidia wants to make it crystal clear how it feels about the idea of AI chip "kill switches" and backdoors. The chip giant said governments should not be allowed to spy on its customers, emphatically arguing against software backdoors into its GPUs, which are used to train and run many of the AI models created by Big Tech companies and startups. "NVIDIA GPUs do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors," Nvidia's chief security officer, David Reber Jr, wrote in a Tuesday blog post titled "No Backdoors. No Kill Switches. No Spyware." Chinese officials expressed concern to Nivida last week about potential "backdoor security risks" in Nivida's H20 chips, which are specifically designed for the Chinese market, and requested a meeting with the company, The New York Times reported. Nvidia said that allowing potential backdoors, or a way for outside parties to access or control the chips without the owner's detection, would make the overall technology more vulnerable and "fracture trust in US technology." Apple has previously strongly opposed the idea of software backdoors, with CEO Tim Cook once calling the idea "the software equivalent of cancer." Apple publicly fought FBI pressure in 2016 to create custom software to help unlock a dead shooter's iPhone and earlier this year pushed back against a"secret order" from the UK government seeking to force the company to grant backdoor access to iCloud user data. Nvidia's chips are a hot commodity in the AI industry, and are used by OpenAI, Meta, and other major companies to train and operate advanced AI language models. "Hardwiring a kill switch into a chip is something entirely different: a permanent flaw beyond user control, and an open invitation for disaster," Nvidia's Reber wrote. "It's like buying a car where the dealership keeps a remote control for the parking brake — just in case they decide you shouldn't be driving. That's not sound policy. It's an overreaction that would irreparably harm America's economic and national security interests." Reber said it isn't accurate to compare some potential monitoring to "Find my iPhone" or similar services. "That comparison doesn't hold water — optional software features, controlled by the user, are not hardware backdoors," he said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently secured a major win with President Donald Trump, with the company planning to resume shipments of its H20 chips to the Chinese market after receiving what it said were assurances from the Trump administration that the exports would be approved following earlier restrictions. Huang has repeatedly said that if the US wants to win the AI race, it must allow US companies to do business around the world, including in China. Nvidia declined to comment further to Business Insider. Trump's AI plan calls for the government to work with industry partners to "explore leveraging new and existing location verification features on advanced AI compute to ensure that the chips are not in countries of concern." The White House's location tracking recommendation mirrors a bipartisan bill in Congress, the Chip Security Act, which would require the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that certain chips are outfitted with location security mechanisms. Unlike the White House plan, the legislation also allows for additional security safeguards, though any additional measures would only come after a security review. "The Chip Security Act is the best approach to disrupt nefarious actors from gaining access to critical technologies," Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan, a Republican and the bill's lead author in the House, said in a statement to BI. "This bipartisan legislation does not require the inclusion of spyware or kill switches—any statements to the contrary are disingenuous." A senior congressional aide working on the bill told Business Insider that the legislation would likely not require Nvidia or other major chip manufacturers to make hardware changes to their chips. "The legislation is focused instead on location verification capabilities, which are already included in the majority of high-end AI chips and would likely require no hardware changes whatsoever," the aide said.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Nvidia posts a long message for China with an appeal to the US government, says: There is no such thing as good ...
Nvidia has now shared a long message for China along with an appeal to the US government regarding the allegations of hidden security vulnerabilities in its H20 AI chips . Recently, a Bloomberg report revealed that the Chinese government officials summoned Nvidia representatives over alleged security risks related to Nvidia H20 AI chips. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Cyberspace Administration of China issued a statement regarding the same. The statement said that the chips had been exposed to serious security issues. Now a report by Reuters reveal that Nvidia has confirmed that its chips do not have backdoor entry. Now, Nvidia has publicly asserted that its chips contain "no backdoors, no kill switches, and no spyware." The chipset major's chief security Officer David Reber has made this declaration via a blog post. Nvidia responds to China's 'backdoor' security concerns in H20 In a blog post shared, Nvidia's chief security officer David Reber has vehemently denied the accusations of Chinese government alleging security risks in H20. 'There is no such thing as a 'good' secret backdoor — only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated,' wrote Reber in the blog post. He argued that it would "undermine global digital infrastructure and fracture trust in US technology. Amidst proposals from the White House and both houses of Congress to require U.S. chip firms to include location verification technology in chips to prevent diversion to restricted countries, Nvidia warned against such measures. Reber likened a mandated kill switch to "buying a car where the dealership keeps a remote control for the parking brake — just in case they decide you shouldn't be driving," calling it "an overreaction that would irreparably harm America's economic and national security interests ." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Why Nvidia is pushing back For those unaware, chips from Nvidia power everything ranging from CT scanners and air-traffic systems to supercomputers and autonomous vehicles. The company argues that putting a backdoor or kill switch in the chipset would create single points of failure, undermine the trust in American technology and also lead to exploitation by hackers. In the blog post shared, Nvidia also have an example of Clipper chip initiative of the 1990s. With this initiative the government agencies were given backdoor access to the encrypted communications but was later abandoned due to security risks. 'Hardwiring a kill switch into a chip is like buying a car where the dealership keeps a remote control for the parking brake,' the company said. 'That's not sound policy.'
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Nvidia says its AI chips do not have a 'kill switch' after Chinese accusation
Nvidia on Tuesday rejected Chinese accusations that its data center GPUs for artificial intelligence include a hardware function that could remotely deactivate the chips, which is commonly called a "kill switch." "NVIDIA GPUs do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors," wrote Nvidia's Chief Security Officer David Reber in a blog post on Tuesday. The blog post comes after the Cyberspace Administration of China said last week that it needed Nvidia to provide documents about what it called security vulnerabilities in the H20, Nvidia's data center AI chip intended for the Chinese market. The regulator specifically mentioned "backdoor" security risks, according to the New York Times. The statement is an example of how Nvidia is navigating geopolitical conflict as its AI chips remain in high demand by countries and companies around the world. U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would require AI chips under export regulations to be equipped with location-tracking systems. The U.S. has placed export controls on some Nvidia chips to China because of national security reasons, saying that the country could use the chips to gain an advantage in AI or for military purposes. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has argued that it is better for the U.S. if Nvidia's chips become the global standard for AI computers, especially among Chinese developers. The H20 generates billions in revenue per quarter for Nvidia in sales, although the company does not typically break out its revenue specifically. The chip was briefly banned from export to China in April. The company said its guidance would have been about $8 billion higher except for lost sales from a recent export restriction on its China-bound H20 chips. The Trump administration said in July that it would grant a waiver for the chips to resume sales. Silicon Valley technologists and security experts generally believe that backdoors — when a device has a hidden function that would allow a government or attacker to secretly take data from a computer or otherwise control it — are untenable in products. Apple, in particular, has publicly fought off government requests for what it calls "backdoors" in the past as well. Nvidia declined to comment further on its blog post. Reber argued in the blog post that secret backdoors are dangerous vulnerabilities that could be used by hackers, not just officials, and that they "violate the fundamental principles of cybersecurity." He also said that if a kill switch or backdoor were to be put in products like Nvidia GPUs, that they would harm U.S. national security interests. "Hardwiring a kill switch into a chip is something entirely different: a permanent flaw beyond user control, and an open invitation for disaster," Reber wrote. "It's like buying a car where the dealership keeps a remote control for the parking brake — just in case they decide you shouldn't be driving."
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Who are the two finalists for CCRI president?
The bigger picture: Any time the interim president reaches the final two in a college presidential search, it's safe to assume they are the favorite (a similar situation Advertisement Costigan has had a two-year audition in her role as interim president, and the council may prefer to take an 'if it ain't broke it, don't fix it' approach. She's been around CCRI for decades, has played a key role in helping improve its academic offerings, and has a firm understanding of the needs of Rhode Island's employers. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up But Reber has an impressive resume. He has led Hudson County Community College since 2018, and was named CEO of the year by the American Association of Community Colleges last year. He has helped implement a program called Hudson Scholars, which was designed to get students back on track following the COVID-19 pandemic and pays them up to $625 a semester to meet academic goals and connect with counselors. Advertisement What's next: Costigan and Reber will participate in forums with students, faculty, staff, and the college's alumni and foundation boards next week, and the council wants to name a permanent president by July 1. This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Dan McGowan can be reached at
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Reber Cemetery hosts first Caring for Your Cemetery Day April 25
REBER — 'Caring For Your Cemetery Day' will be observed Saturday, April 26, starting at 10 a.m. at the Reber Cemetery located at 239 Reber Rd. 'We're a small town. We don't have a store. We have a church, and we have a fire department. Anybody will be able to find the cemetery,' Carol Dickerson, secretary/treasurer of the Reber Cemetery Association, said. 'I've been with the cemetery probably since the '60s. The State Division of Cemeteries recommended that we have a Caring For Your Cemetery Day. We're opening up the cemetery and the trustees, president, vice president and myself will be there cleaning up of the cemetery. It dates back to the early 1800s. Way back in the 1800s when people first passed away, they needed a place to be buried and that's probably how it got formed. I don't know that exactly. I know it's all Reber people. The names I can recognize way back.' In 2024, the Essex cemetery received $20,288.71 from the state to repair 19 dangerous monuments. 'The Division of Cemeteries has a vandalism fund and you can do an application for them to come, I call it, shore up the old stones that are starting to maybe be a hazard to fall over or something like that,' Dickerson said. 'We did that work this past fall. You had to have bids. Then, they come in and fix those stones. We had 19 of them done last fall.' This is the first Cemetery Day hosted by the association. 'Apparently last year, the State Division of Cemeteries started this, and then they started trying to extend it out to get more cemeteries to try to do this. We always just had the local people clean it up, and the person that mows the cemetery cleans it up. A lot of them tend to their own family stones and clean them up. Our cemetery always looks very nice. We're always very proud of our cemetery.'
