US law enforcement agencies are secretly installing tracking devices in some batches of microchips that they believe may have been illegally sent to China, Reuters reported, citing its sources.
According to their information, these measures are aimed at identifying violations of US export restrictions and apply only to individual batches of microchips that came to the attention of law enforcement agencies during investigations. The unnamed sources noted that monitoring the location of the chips allows authorities to obtain grounds to file cases against individuals and companies that violate export control regulations.
Sources told Reuters that they are aware of the secret installation of tracking devices in batches of products from Dell, Supermicro, Nvidia and AMD. According to them, the trackers are most often installed in the packaging, but sometimes they are placed in the devices themselves.
Earlier, Bloomberg reportedthat Chinese authorities have sent notices to some local companies urging them to stop using H20 microchips from the US company Nvidia due to concerns that the US chips can track locations and be turned off remotely. China is actively developing its own semiconductor market and recommends switching to locally produced products, the publication notes.
On August 9, the Financial Times reportedthat the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce had issued a license to technology company Nvidia to sell H20 chips to China. In April, US authorities informed the company that a special license would now be required to supply chips to China. Washington explained the new requirement by saying that “these products can be used in a supercomputer”.