Nvidia says no backdoors, kill switches, or spyware in its chips after China accusations

[midian182]

Recap: Almost a week after China claimed its data center GPUs contained security and privacy issues, Nvidia has published a post ensuring the public that there are no backdoors, kill switches, or spyware in its products. Some experts say the technology needed for real-time GPU tracking -- which US politicians are calling for -- is already built into the chips.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) last week said that Beijing authorities had summoned Nvidia to discuss national security concerns related to the China-specific H20 chip, including potential tracking and backdoors, which could allow remote access to the GPUs.

This week, Nvidia's Chief Security Officer David Reber wrote that the company's products "do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors."

Reber adds that embedding backdoors and kill switches into chips would not only benefit hackers and hostile actors, but it would also undermine global digital infrastructure and fracture trust in US technology.

"There are no back doors in Nvidia chips. No kill switches. No spyware. That's not how trustworthy systems are built – and never will be," Reber concluded.

During an AI summit in Washington held in July, Nvidia was given permission to resume sales of its H20 data center GPUs in China. The company was forced to stop sales of the chip, which is designed to stay below the US performance-density threshold, in April – a pause that cost Nvidia a $4.5 billion write-off. The White House reportedly restarted the sales to prevent China from overtaking the US in the global chip race.

The US has accused Chinese companies and products of having security vulnerabilities for years, from the blacklisted Huawei and ZTE to drone manufacturer DJI and DeepSeek AI. Even TP-Link's popular routers are under investigation.

China's claims that Nvidia's GPUs have tracking technology aren't surprising. US politicians have been pushing for a system that tracks Nvidia chips that are being smuggled into China, bypassing the US export bans. Experts say that much of the technology needed for this real-time tracking is already integrated into the chips.

CAC noted these calls in its post. It added that American AI experts had revealed that Nvidia's chips pose mature "tracking and positioning" and "remote shutdown" technologies.

It's unlikely that Nvidia's post will convince Chinese authorities the GPUs are safe, though its main purpose is to respond to the CAC's message and hopefully reassure the public.

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Nvidia says no backdoors, kill switches, or spyware in its chips after China accusations

 

[Megalomaniac]

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

 

[yRaz]

With nVidia's "trust me, bro" guarantee.

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

This is why Trump won. Harris should have won in a landslide but the extremests that highjacked the left just couldn't keep their mouths shut. Everyone is racist and all white men are evil.

 

[seeprime]

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

Racist? It's geopolitical, nothing else.

 

[Hexic]

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

Out of this whole article, you landed on racism as the problem?

Oof.

 

[techstrike]

What next Nvidia? that Aliens invaded our planet?

 

[maxxcool7421]

With nVidia's "trust me, bro" guarantee.

This is why Trump won. Harris should have won in a landslide but the extremests that highjacked the left just couldn't keep their mouths shut. Everyone is racist and all white men are evil.

well they are just look at texas ...

 

[yRaz]

well they are just look at texas ...

The only way California isn't racist is if "you can't be racist against white people" was true. I guess Caucasian isn't a race.

 

[toooooot]

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

Something tells me if the roles were reversed, China would have done the same thing.
The only question to be asked here is what is better for the world, for China to be the dominant power, or USA? I suppose, you know how China treats its weaker neighbors? The only ones it does not treat the same way is those who are too strong. That is a good question to think before allowing it to reach superiority using our technology and science built using democratic laws and political freedom.

 

[Tantor]

I'm skeptical about Nvidia's claim.

The 1994 US CALEA act forces telecommunications company to incorporate a backdoor. Supposedly it includes a gag order so the company cannot tell the public.

"USA telecommunications providers must install new hardware or software, as well as modify old equipment, so that it doesn't interfere with the ability of a law enforcement agency (LEA) to perform real-time surveillance of any telephone or Internet traffic." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Assistance_for_Law_Enforcement_Act

Here's Tucker Carlson and Pavel Durov (Telegram founder) discussing CALEA.

Nvidia is not a US telecommunications company, but obviously the US government wants direct access to encrypted messaging.

 

[p51d007]

I think it is rich how the Chinese are complaining about possible backdoors & kill switches considering they are doing the same to gather data and what not.

 

[Tantor]

Something tells me if the roles were reversed, China would have done the same thing.
The only question to be asked here is what is better for the world, for China to be the dominant power, or USA? I suppose, you know how China treats its weaker neighbors? The only ones it does not treat the same way is those who are too strong. That is a good question to think before allowing it to reach superiority using our technology and science built using democratic laws and political freedom.

China is kinder to its neighbors than the US has been to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Serbia, Afghanistan, and many more. The path of the US is strewn with corpses of upstart nations.

 

[Tantor]

China will never allow America's racist and shortsighted trade laws to stop it from reaching technological proficiency. I give them less than 5 years before PRC gets Hua Wei to innovate beyond what Nvidia offers.

US trade laws are not racist. Over the last 40 years the US basically handed over its industry to China and Asia. Only now are US leaders becoming alarmed about what they have done to American industry.

 

[Tantor]

I think it is rich how the Chinese are complaining about possible backdoors & kill switches considering they are doing the same to gather data and what not.

You have it backward. China has been open about their government survelliance. The US is the one touting moral superiority. China is just pointing out that the US claims to moral superiority are nonsense.

 

[MaXtor]

I'm skeptical about Nvidia's claim.

The 1994 US CALEA act forces telecommunications company to incorporate a backdoor. Supposedly it includes a gag order so the company cannot tell the public.

"USA telecommunications providers must install new hardware or software, as well as modify old equipment, so that it doesn't interfere with the ability of a law enforcement agency (LEA) to perform real-time surveillance of any telephone or Internet traffic." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Assistance_for_Law_Enforcement_Act

Here's Tucker Carlson and Pavel Durov (Telegram founder) discussing CALEA.

Nvidia is not a US telecommunications company, but obviously the US government wants direct access to encrypted messaging.

100%.

Not to mention Edward Snowden's leaks on PRISM where we found out the NSA was working with all major corporations (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc) to monitor every chat, every email, every voice call, every video call; everything.

All these articles about companies claiming no backdoors and denying access to their encryption is straight gaslighting.

 

[BogdanR]

This is why Trump won. Harris should have won in a landslide but the extremests that highjacked the left just couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Indeed. Instead America (narrowly) went with the extremists which hijacked the right.

 

[onebignerd]

Kaspersky was also spying on people, but not one shred of definitive proof was ever published! I know Nvidia graphic drivers had telemetry at one time, because I used to disable it.

The U.S Government has these tech companies silenced with the FISA court and National Security Letters, so even if there were backdoors or spying the companies couldn't admit to it. All these tech companies denied involvement with PRISIM, despite Snowden leaks showing otherwise. The U.S is becoming just like China, the Feds have no room to criticize!!