The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn't Really Happen

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: October 7, 2018 at 4:39:42 AM GMT+9
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn't Really Happen
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn’t Really Happen
> Apple, Amazon, and Super Micro have all denied the veracity of a report on Chinese hardware hacking. No matter the 
> outcome, the results could inflame an already raw high-tech trade relationship between the U.S. and China.
> By IAN BOGOST
> Oct 6 2018
> <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/political-cost-chinese-hardware-hack/572383/>
>
> It’s easy to forget in the app era, but Silicon Valley got its name from microchips. The generation that transformed 
> orchards into Oracle did so by manufacturing electronic circuits that encrust “chips” of a semiconductor material, 
> usually made of silicon. In the fertile purlicue south of San Francisco, the foundations of the electronic revolution 
> were invented, designed, and manufactured. Shockley Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel, and other 
> integrated-circuit makers thrived. Computer makers who used their parts burgeoned too. Software and services came 
> next, and then the venture capital to fund these efforts.
>
> Today, the capital and the software remain, and some computer and device makers, too. But the integrated circuit 
> business has largely left the region. Silicon is etched into Silicon Valley mostly in name. The reasons are many. 
> Land, housing, and labor became more expensive. Other countries, most of them in East Asia, created incentives for 
> semiconductor manufacture. Global, just-in-time manufacture, along with the low cost of shipping small, light 
> microchips around the world, made vertical integration less desirable.
>
> This is a useful lens through which to view an explosive story published this week by Bloomberg Businessweek. The 
> report claims that Chinese spies systematically infiltrated U.S. corporate and government computer systems by 
> installing hardware exploits on the motherboards of servers destined for widespread use, from video-streaming 
> services to the CIA. According to Businessweek, the infected machines provided a backdoor into any network on which 
> the machines were installed. The reporting claims that at least 30 U.S. companies were affected, including Apple and 
> Amazon, the most valuable companies in the world. Both companies have vociferously denied the claims, but Bloomberg 
> stands by its story.
>
> Who is right is a matter of corporate and national security. The exploits and hacks that have rocked the tech 
> industry in recent years would seem minor compared to a foreign state gaining stealth access to the entire networks 
> of companies and government agencies that manage enormous volumes of sensitive information. But even if the situation 
> turns out to be different than Businessweek’s report, the scenario outlined in the piece (or one like it) is totally 
> plausible. That plausibility, made newly visible, could combine with an accelerant: A tough American stance on 
> Chinese business, including President Trump’s love for tariffs and trade war, and China’s increased dedication to 
> independence. The resulting blaze has serious implications for the American technology business, and it won’t soon 
> burn out.
>
> Historically, China has not been a designer or manufacturer of the integrated circuits that get printed on silicon. 
> It imports most of them. Some of those chips are used domestically, but many are used as parts for computers, 
> embedded systems, and other computing tools that are then exported globally. Even so, China has excelled in making 
> large volumes of chips quickly and cheaply, and at assembling imported parts into new components or devices for 
> export. As a result, more and more computing devices rely on Chinese manufacture in one way or another, even if China 
> still relies on imports to fulfill those demands.
>
> The servers at the center of the Businessweek story are made by Super Micro Computer Inc., a Silicon Valley company 
> with a long history. The company manufactures servers that businesses can customize for specific needs, but it 
> imports pre-built components from China used to assemble them. If such machines have been infected at the 
> supply-chain level, in parts assembled into final products, both seller and customer might never know. (Super Micro 
> has also issued a strong denialof Businessweek’s account.)
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-a538de84&post_id=20181006155009:05D1A74A-C9A1-11E8-AB75-E47347795C80
Powered by Listbox: https://www.listbox.com