BEIJING: Nvidia’s H20 chips pose security concerns for China, a social media account affiliated with China’s state media said on Sunday, after Beijing raised concerns over backdoor access in those chips, Reuters reported.
The H20 chips are also not technologically advanced or environmentally friendly, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, which is affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, said in an article published on WeChat.
“When a type of chip is neither environmentally friendly, nor advanced, nor safe, as consumers, we certainly have the option not to buy it,” the article concluded.
H20 AI chips were developed by Nvidia for the Chinese market after the US imposed export restrictions on advanced AI chips in late 2023.
China’s cyberspace watchdog said on July 31 that it had summoned Nvidia to a meeting, asking the US chipmaker to explain whether its H20 chips had any backdoor security risks - a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls. Nvidia later said its products had no “backdoors” that would allow remote access or
control.