This spy chip saga is really weird. From Quora:
If Bloomberg’s China hack story is true, where are the malicious chips? Why haven’t any been found in Apple, Amazon, or other devices?
Apple Insiders Say Nobody Internally Knows What’s Going On With Bloomberg’s China Hack Story
Kayee Tong, Dual Citizen US/HK, proficient in Chinese.
Updated Sun · Upvoted by David Friedman, Worked at Bloomberg around 2001-2003 and David Skoda, Software Engineer at Bloomberg (2016-present)
This “cutting-edge” technology on the Bloomberg cover is widely available on the “Chinese eBay” marketplace TaoBao for ¥0.69 (roughly 10 cents USD) haha. Anyone can buy some. I found a guy who will buy some and plant it pretty much anywhere you want for a sizable fee.
If Bloomberg really needed confirmation of the story, I suggest they have the FBI, Apple and Amazon confirm it or provide undoctored, detailed photographic evidence. Ever wonder why Bloomberg used only anonymous sources?
Apple and Amazon both vehemently deny the story and call out Bloomberg.
- Apple: What Businessweek got wrong about Apple (apple.com)
- Amazon: Setting the Record Straight on Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Erroneous Article | Amazon Web Services (aws.amazon.com)
These aren’t the typical weasel word statements of refusing to acknowledge a statement. They are complete, flat out denials, not just one but two well-respected companies. These are publicly traded companies who will have big trouble if they make materially false statements. Talk to corporate lawyers and you’ll see what I mean.
Chances are Bloomberg reporters got fed false information and misunderstood or exaggerated what actually happened - reporters aren’t cybersecurity experts. The security technical details don’t make sense. The wide distribution doesn’t make sense. It is very unlikely that an attack went down the way Bloomberg says it did. Feel free to ask other cybersecurity experts. Apple/Amazon hires excellent cybersecurity experts and any respectable expert will tell you the same thing. You don’t have to rely on what I say.
Now I’m not saying China is a saint. There are certainly attacks to the US by organizations in Russia and China, but there are attacks to Russia and China by organizations in the US, ask any cybersecurity expert yourself, it goes both ways and we are no saints either!
From someone who has experience in both worlds:
Don’t think in terms of us vs. them, or chances are you’re playing into the hands of people planting the story. It’s not the first time I’ve seen less than objective news on China from what most consider a reputable news outlet.