- Nvidia denies backdoors in its H20 AI chips amid Chinese security probes and demands for documentation.
- China’s CAC and US lawmakers raise concerns over tracking, geolocation, and remote shutdown features in advanced chips.
- Nvidia plans to resume H20 chip sales in China after US approval, balancing regulatory scrutiny from both sides.
Nvidia Corporation has stated that its chips do not contain any backdoors that could provide third parties with access to devices, according to CNBC.
In July, the company announced its intention to resume sales of H20 AI processors in China after receiving permission from the US government.
Chinese regulators summoned representatives of the chipmaker for questioning to understand the potential risks associated with the chips.
On July 31, Nvidia met with Beijing officials to discuss national security concerns.
“Cybersecurity is of the utmost importance to us. Nvidia chips do not have any ‘backdoors’ that would allow someone to remotely access or control them,” a company spokesperson said in a statement on August 1.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has demanded that Nvidia provide clarifications and relevant documentation regarding security threats, including potential vulnerabilities and backdoors, in H20 chips shipped to the country.
The regulator noted previous concerns about serious vulnerabilities in the American company's AI processors and pointed out that American legislators have called for mandatory tracking for the export of advanced semiconductors.
CAC added that US AI experts have claimed Nvidia’s computing chips include advanced “tracking and positioning” technologies, as well as “remote shutdown” features.
In May, Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton and a bipartisan group of eight members of Congress introduced the U.S. Chip Security Act, which would require semiconductor companies like Nvidia to build security mechanisms and geolocation features into their advanced AI processors.
Democratic Representative Bill Foster, a co-sponsor of the bill in the House, and independent tech experts told Reuters that chip-tracking technology already exists and is incorporated into Nvidia products.
