Allegations that Nvidia’s AI chips sold to China may contain a remotely deactivated system have further exacerbated technological tensions between Beijing and the US. China’s Cyberspace Administration contacted Nvidia last week, requesting detailed information about security vulnerabilities discovered in the country’s H20 GPUs.
Hidden Mechanism Suspected in Nvidia H20 Chips
According to the agency’s findings, a backdoor may have been intentionally placed in these chips. Chinese authorities believe this backdoor is designed as a type of “kill switch,” a hidden mechanism that can remotely disable devices.
These allegations have caused controversy regarding the system security of Nvidia GPUs, which have been widely used in China recently. Nvidia quickly responded to the allegations. David Reber, the company’s head of cybersecurity, stated, “Nvidia’s GPUs do not and should not have kill switches or backdoors.”
Nvidia chips, which play a central role in China’s AI advancement, have long been the focus of political and security debates due to US export restrictions. Decisions made during the Donald Trump era banned the sale of Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips to China.
Despite this, Chinese companies continued to build advanced systems using chips like the H20, the weaker US-approved models. Furthermore, banned models are known to be illegally transported to China through certain third countries. Shipments via Thailand and Singapore highlight the inadequacy of controls in this area.
The H20 model, at the center of the security concerns, was designed directly to comply with the US Department of Commerce’s export list, yet is known to be a product capable of achieving high efficiency in AI training and inference.
The chips examined by the Cyberspace Administration of China are related to this model. Technical data suggesting external access to certain modules within the devices’ internal structure points to the possibility of previously undisclosed interference in Nvidia’s software and hardware layers.
It remains unclear how the process will unfold following the technical talks between the parties. However, China’s kill switch allegations will not only constitute a trade dispute but also a new front in the ongoing strategic technology war between the two countries.
