After Beijing’s concerns, Nvidia denies its China-bound H20 AI chips having any ‘backdoors’

Nvidia has denied that its chips have any “backdoors” that would allow anyone to access or control them. This comes on the heels of Chinese regulators summoning officials from the company to explain risks associated with its H20 chip. While Nvidia was given assurances by Washington that it would be allowed to resume exports of its made-for-China H20 general processing units, the AI chips have attracted increased scrutiny from Beijing.

“Cybersecurity is critically important to us. NVIDIA does not have ‘backdoors’ in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them,” a Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)), Nvidia met with Beijing officials earlier regarding national security concerns posed by the H20 chips, which are expected to resume shipments to China after an effective ban in April.

According to a statement from CAC, Nvidia was requested “to clarify and submit relevant supporting documentation regarding security risks, including potential vulnerabilities and backdoors, associated with its H20 computing chips sold to China”.

CAC added that American AI experts had already revealed that Nvidia’s computing chips pose mature “tracking and positioning” and “remote shutdown” technologies.

The regulator in a post said that Nvidia’s AI chips have been reported to contain serious security vulnerabilities. It also noted calls from U.S. lawmakers for mandatory tracking features to be placed on advanced chip exports.