Latest news with #backdoors
Free Malaysia Today
10-08-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Beijing says Nvidia's H20 chips not safe for China
Nvidia says its chips have no 'backdoors' that would allow remote access or control. (EPA Images pic) BEIJING : Nvidia's H20 chips pose security concerns for China, a social media account affiliated with China's state media said today, after Beijing raised concerns over backdoor access in those chips. The H20 chips are also not technologically advanced or environmentally friendly, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, which is affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, said in an article published on WeChat. 'When a type of chip is neither environmentally friendly, nor advanced, nor safe, as consumers, we certainly have the option not to buy it,' the article concluded. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. H20 artificial intelligence chips were developed by Nvidia for the Chinese market after the US imposed export restrictions on advanced AI chips in late 2023. The administration of US President Donald Trump banned their sales in April amid escalating trade tensions with China, but reversed the ban in July. China's cyberspace watchdog said on July 31 that it had summoned Nvidia to a meeting, asking the US chipmaker to explain whether its H20 chips had any backdoor security risks – a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls. Nvidia later said its products had no 'backdoors' that would allow remote access or control. In its article, Yuyuan Tantian said Nvidia chips could achieve functions including 'remote shutdown' through a hardware 'backdoor'. Yuyuan Tantian's comment followed criticism against Nvidia by People's Daily, another Chinese state media outlet. In a commentary earlier this month, People's Daily said Nvidia must produce 'convincing security proofs' to eliminate Chinese users' worries over security risks in its chips and regain market trust.
Tahawul Tech
08-08-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Nvidia calls claims of secret kill switch ‘implausible'
Nvidia has refuted the idea that its GPUs were built with kill switches or backdoors while simultaneously attempting to dissuade politicians suggesting its chips should include features such as location sharing and remote-control. In a blog, Nvidia chief security officer David Reber argued embedding backdoors and kill switches into its chips 'would be a gift to hackers and hostile actors', undermining global digital infrastructure and fracturing trust in US technology. He noted to mitigate the risk of misuse, some pundits and politicians proposed requiring hardware to have built-in controls which can remotely disable GPUs without user knowledge and consent, adding some suspect these might already exist. Until recently, Reber noted established law required companies to fix any security vulnerabilities and the principle still holds. 'There is no such thing as a 'good' secret backdoor, only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated', he said. 'Product security must always be done in the right way: through rigorous internal testing, independent validation and full compliance with global security standards.' Implausible China's government held a meeting with the company last week to outline its concerns about a US push for its advanced chips to include tracking and positioning features. Nvidia said there were suggestions 'find my phone' or 'remote wipe' features on smartphones could be used as models for a GPU kill switch. However, Nvidia's security chief said the comparison 'doesn't hold water, optional software features, controlled by the user, are not hardware backdoors'. 'Hardwiring a kill switch into a chip is something entirely different: a permanent flaw beyond user control and an open invitation for disaster', Reber warned. Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: Nvidia
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia Slams Backdoor Speculation Over AI Chips
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is firmly denying rumors that its chips contain secret backdoors or kill switches, calling the idea reckless and flat-out wrong. The company's response comes after China summoned the chipmaker last week over concerns tied to its H20 AI chips. In a blog post Tuesday, Nvidia said it has never embedded backdoors into its hardware and wouldn't, because it would be a gift to hackers and hostile actors. It warned that building in secret kill switches would not only be dangerous, but could erode global trust in U.S. tech. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with NVDA. There's no such thing as a good' secret backdoor, Nvidia wrote. Single-point controls are a bad idea, and vulnerabilities should be fixed not created. The comments land just as U.S. lawmakers propose tighter controls on chip exports, including adding tech to verify chip locations. Nvidia's H20 shipments to China were recently greenlit under a limited export exemption, following a broader ban in April. Even though Nvidia says there are no backdoors or kill switches in its chips, Chinese regulators aren't totally convinced. They're worried those features might still be possible, at least in part. That puts Nvidia in a tough spot caught between Washington pushing for AI dominance and Beijing demanding full hardware transparency. The H20 chip, built to stay within U.S. export rules, has ended up right in the middle of that power struggle. In the high-stakes AI chip war, Nvidia is drawing a clear lineno hidden access, no kill switch, no compromises on trust. All eyes now turn to how U.S.-China tech relations evolve from here. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Washington Post
06-08-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Nvidia, under pressure from U.S. and China, says its chips have no ‘back doors'
Nvidia declared its highly sought-after AI chips don't have 'back doors' or 'kill switches' and that it opposes such remote control options, in an effort to insulate itself from the intensifying technological rivalry between the United States and China. 'There is no such thing as a 'good' secret backdoor,' Nvidia Chief Security Officer David Reber Jr. wrote on Tuesday, adding that 'until recently' the idea of building in such vulnerabilities on purpose was 'beyond question.'
The Verge
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Nvidia rejects possibility of AI chip backdoor
Nvidia's chief security officer has published a blog post insisting that its GPUs 'do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.' It comes amid pressure from both sides of the Pacific, with some US lawmakers pushing Nvidia to grant the government backdoors to AI chips, while Chinese officials have alleged that they already exist. David Reber Jr.'s post seems pointedly directed at US lawmakers. In May a bipartisan group introduced the Chip Security Act, a bill that would require Nvidia and other manufacturers to include tracking technology to identify when chips are illegally transported internationally, and leaves the door open for further security measures including remote kill switches. While Nvidia is expecting to be granted permits to once again sell certain AI chips in China, its most powerful hardware is still under strict US export controls there and elsewhere. 'To mitigate the risk of misuse, some pundits and policymakers propose requiring hardware 'kill switches' or built-in controls that can remotely disable GPUs without user knowledge and consent,' wrote Reber Jr. 'Some suspect they might already exist,' he continues, in a nod to a probe already launched in China over alleged 'loopholes and backdoor' vulnerabilities in the H20 chips that have been sold in the country. 'There is no such thing as a 'good' secret backdoor,' Reber Jr. argues, 'only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated.' He goes on to call kill switches 'an open invitation for disaster,' before making it explicit that his intended audience is US policymakers: 'That's not sound policy. It's an overreaction that would irreparably harm America's economic and national security interests.' Both Nvidia and the US government would like the company to be the dominant supplier of AI chips to China, but the suggestion of direct US access to the hardware might put that at risk. Chinese chip companies are steadily improving their performance and production capacity, as China looks for a homegrown alternative. That raises the possibility that Nvidia will be usurped in the market by Huawei, a company that knows a thing or two about losing market share over alleged government access. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Dominic Preston Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Nvidia Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Security Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
