Dave Farber
2018-10-06 19:49:56 UTC
Date: October 7, 2018 at 4:39:42 AM GMT+9
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn't Really Happen
The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didnât 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/>
Itâs 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 âchipsâ 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 Businessweekâs 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 Trumpâs love for tariffs and trade war, and Chinaâs increased dedication to independence. The resulting blaze has serious implications for the American technology business, and it wonât 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 Businessweekâs account.)
[snip]
Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp
-------------------------------------------Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn't Really Happen
The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didnât 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/>
Itâs 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 âchipsâ 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 Businessweekâs 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 Trumpâs love for tariffs and trade war, and Chinaâs increased dedication to independence. The resulting blaze has serious implications for the American technology business, and it wonât 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 Businessweekâs 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=26461375
Unsubscribe Now: https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=26461375&id_secret=26461375-c2b8a462&post_id=20181006155009:05D1A74A-C9A1-11E8-AB75-E47347795C80
Powered by Listbox: https://www.listbox.com