China's Cyber Association Calls For A Security Review Of Intel Products Sold In China

CSAC calls for Intel products sold in China to undergo a security review (photo: x @GamersLivePlus)

JAKARTA - China's Cybersecurity Association (CSAC) on Wednesday, October 16, called for Intel products sold in China to undergo a security review, on charges that the US chip company was "consistently detrimental" to China's national security and interests.

The CSAC, although it is an industry group and not a government agency, has close ties to the state and allegations against Intel published in a lengthy post on its official WeChat account could trigger a security review by China's cyber regulator, China's Cyber Administration (CAC).

Intel and CAC have yet to comment on this. Intel shares fell 2.7% in pre-market US trading following a disappointing update from chip equipment maker ASML, amid a common decline in the tech sector.

"It is recommended that network security reviews begin on Intel products sold in China, in order to effectively maintain China's national security and legitimate consumer rights and interests of China," CSAC said.

Last year, CAC banned key infrastructure operators in China from buying products made by US memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc, after the company's product was deemed to have failed in a network security review. A similar review of Intel's products could have a negative impact on the company's revenue, where more than a quarter of Intel's revenue last year came from China.

Backdoor Charges

The allegations come as China faces US-led efforts to restrict its access to key chip equipment and components, which Washington says aims to halt the modernization of China's military.

The CSAC alleges Intel chips, including Xeon processors used for artificial intelligence tasks, have some vulnerabilities and states that Intel "has major flaws in terms of product quality, security management, which demonstrates a highly irresponsible attitude towards customers."

The CSAC also alleges that operating systems embedded in all Intel processors are vulnerable to backdoors created by the US National Security Agency (NSA). "This poses a major threat to critical information infrastructure in countries around the world, including China... the use of Intel products poses a serious risk to national security," the CSAC said.

The ban, even if temporary, on Intel products could further tighten the supply of AI chips in the Chinese market, which is struggling to find viable alternatives to cutting-edge products from Nvidia, which dominate the global market but are now banned from exporting to China.

This year, Intel managed to secure orders for its Xeon processor from several state-related agencies in China for use in AI work.