Nvidia Says There Are No 'Backdoors' In Its Chips As Beijing Demands Answers: 'No Kill Switches, No Spyware'
Nvidia Corp. has denied allegations of hidden controls in its H20 AI chips, stating there are no backdoors, kill switches, or spyware. Chief Security Officer David Reber Jr. emphasized that such vulnerabilities would be dangerous and counterproductive. This response follows scrutiny from China's cyberspace regulator amid U.S. export policy discussions. The Justice Department recently charged two individuals for smuggling restricted GPUs to China. Nvidia's stock rose by 1.06% to $182.74, reflecting strong upward momentum in its performance metrics.
Nvidia Corp. NVDA issued a forceful denial days after China's cyberspace regulator summoned the company over alleged "tracking and positioning" risks in H20 AI chips newly cleared for some exports, calling hidden controls nonexistent and dangerous.
What Happened: "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," wrote Chief Security Officer David Reber Jr. in a blog post penned last week.
Reber argued that any secret access to remotely disable hardware or spy on usage would inevitably be turned against its creator. "There is no such thing as a ‘good' secret backdoor — only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated," he wrote, adding that hard-coded, single-point controls would be "a gift to hackers and hostile actors."
Why It Matters: The post followed a partial U.S. rollback of export curbs on Nvidia's H20 accelerators to China and Beijing's ensuing scrutiny. China's Cyberspace Administration asked the chipmaker to explain potential "back doors," while U.S. officials simultaneously examined ways to better track where advanced accelerators end up.
Policy debates in Washington are sharpening. A ‘Chip Security Act’ under discussion would embed location verification for export-controlled AI chips and some high-end consumer GPUs. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), a sponsor, told the Washington Post the measure wouldn't require "spyware" or "kill switches," calling claims to the contrary "disingenuous."
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Enforcement pressure is rising, too. The Justice Department last week charged two Chinese nationals with allegedly smuggling tens of millions of dollars' worth of restricted GPUs to China through third countries.
Price Action: Nvidia stock closed higher by 1.06% to $182.74 on Friday.
According to Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, Nvidia continues to exhibit strong upward momentum across short, medium and long-term timeframes. Additional performance metrics can be found here.
Photo Courtesy: Saulo Ferreira Angelo on Shutterstock.com
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