Nvidia Corp. has strongly refuted claims of “backdoors” or hidden controls in its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips, following a summons from China’s cyberspace regulator. The company’s denial comes amidst allegations of “tracking and positioning” risks associated with these chips, which have recently received partial U.S. clearance for export to China.
David Reber Jr., Nvidia’s Chief Security Officer, addressed the concerns in a blog post last week, stating, “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.” He emphasized that any secret access points to remotely disable hardware or monitor usage would inherently create dangerous vulnerabilities that could be exploited against the creator itself. Reber elaborated, “There is no such thing as a ‘good’ secret backdoor — only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated,” further adding that hard-coded, single-point controls would be “a gift to hackers and hostile actors.”
This forceful denial by Nvidia comes at a time of heightened scrutiny from both Beijing and Washington. Following the U.S. government’s partial relaxation of export restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 accelerators to China, China’s Cyberspace Administration initiated an inquiry into the potential for “backdoors” in the chips. Concurrently, U.S. officials are exploring mechanisms to more effectively track the end-use destinations of advanced accelerators.
In Washington, policy discussions are intensifying, with a proposed ‘Chip Security Act’ under consideration. This legislation aims to embed location verification for export-controlled AI chips and certain high-end consumer GPUs. Representative Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), a sponsor of the bill, clarified to the Washington Post that the measure would not mandate “spyware” or “kill switches,” dismissing claims to the contrary as “disingenuous.”
Enforcement efforts are also on the rise, as evidenced by the Justice Department’s recent charges against two Chinese nationals. These individuals are accused of illegally smuggling tens of millions of dollars’ worth of restricted GPUs to China through third countries. On the financial front, Nvidia’s stock closed higher by 1.06% on Friday, reaching $182.74.
