Reports that US regulators have secretly attached location tracking devices to exported semiconductors, and there have also been cases of small tracking devices being hidden inside servers



The United States has restricted exports of high-end semiconductors to China, and Reuters has recently reported that U.S. regulators have secretly attached location tracking devices to high-end semiconductors being shipped overseas.

Exclusive: US embeds trackers in AI chip shipments to catch diversions to China, sources say | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-embeds-trackers-ai-chip-shipments-catch-diversions-china-sources-say-2025-08-13/

US authorities allegedly placed secret tracking devices in AI chip shipments to China — report claims targeted shipments from Dell and Super Micro containing Nvidia and AMD chips had trackers in packaging and servers themselves | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/us-authorities-allegedly-placed-secret-tracking-devices-in-ai-chip-shipments-to-china-report-claims-targeted-shipments-from-dell-and-super-micro-containing-nvidia-and-amd-chips-had-trackers-in-packaging-and-servers-themselves

The United States considers China's AI development a threat to national security and has severely restricted the export of high-performance semiconductors essential for AI development to China. For this reason, NVIDIA is producing special edition chips with reduced performance, such as the ' H20 ,' for China.

However, in August 2025, China's Cybersecurity Regulatory Authority (CAC) claimed that 'American AI experts have revealed that NVIDIA's computing chips have location tracking capabilities and can be remotely shut down,' and demanded an explanation from NVIDIA.

Chinese authorities claim that 'NVIDIA GPUs have backdoors' - GIGAZINE



According to new information obtained by Reuters from two U.S. export control officials, U.S. authorities have secretly installed location tracking devices on 'advanced semiconductors that are at high risk of being illegally exported to China.' The installation of tracking devices is typically carried out by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and sometimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A source in the server supply chain also testified, 'When we shipped Dell servers equipped with NVIDIA chips in 2024, we saw large tracking devices attached to the shipping boxes. We also saw small, hard-to-find tracking devices attached to the inside of the packaging and inside the server itself.' Another source said, 'I have seen photos and videos documenting the removal of tracking devices from Dell and Supermicro servers. The large tracking devices were about the size of a smartphone.'

According to Reuters, U.S. law enforcement agencies have used location tracking devices for decades to track export-controlled items such as aircraft parts. In response to Reuters' request for comment, Dell said, 'We are not aware that the U.S. government has placed tracking devices on our products.' Supermicro said, 'We have security measures in place to protect our partners and customers around the world, and we do not disclose the details of those measures.'

NVIDIA also told Reuters, 'We do not install tracking devices in our products.' When asked for clarification by Chinese authorities, the company also issued a statement saying, 'Our GPU products do not contain kill switches, backdoors, or spyware. Embedding control features into semiconductors creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers and hostile attackers, putting the world's digital infrastructure at risk and undermining trust in American-made technology.'

NVIDIA officially declares 'no backdoors, no kill switches, no spyware', while the Trump administration is considering ways to track semiconductors - GIGAZINE



in Hardware,   Security, Posted by log1o_hf