Apple and DHS deny China chip hacking of servers

by

Apple and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) have denied the Bloomberg report of China chip hacking the security of servers.

Here is the DHS statement:

The Department of Homeland Security is aware of the media reports of a technology supply chain compromise. Like our partners in the UK, the National Cyber Security Centre, at this time we have no reason to doubt the statements from the companies named in the story.

Here is the Apple statement:

Over the course of the past year, Bloomberg has contacted us [Apple] multiple times with claims, sometimes vague and sometimes elaborate, of an alleged security incident at Apple. Each time, we have conducted rigorous internal investigations based on their inquiries and each time we have found absolutely no evidence to support any of them. We have repeatedly and consistently offered factual responses, on the record, refuting virtually every aspect of Bloomberg’s story relating to Apple.

On this we can be very clear: Apple has never found malicious chips, “hardware manipulations” or vulnerabilities purposely planted in any server. Apple never had any contact with the FBI or any other agency about such an incident. We are not aware of any investigation by the FBI, nor are our contacts in law enforcement.

In response to Bloomberg’s latest version of the narrative, we present the following facts: Siri and Topsy never shared servers; Siri has never been deployed on servers sold to us by Super Micro; and Topsy data was limited to approximately 2,000 Super Micro servers, not 7,000. None of those servers have ever been found to hold malicious chips.

As a matter of practice, before servers are put into production at Apple they are inspected for security vulnerabilities and we update all firmware and software with the latest protections. We did not uncover any unusual vulnerabilities in the servers we purchased from Super Micro when we updated the firmware and software according to our standard procedures.

We are deeply disappointed that in their dealings with us, Bloomberg’s reporters have not been open to the possibility that they or their sources might be wrong or misinformed. Our best guess is that they are confusing their story with a previously-reported 2016 incident in which we discovered an infected driver on a single Super Micro server in one of our labs. That one-time event was determined to be accidental and not a targeted attack against Apple.

While there has been no claim that customer data was involved, we take these allegations seriously and we want users to know that we do everything possible to safeguard the personal information they entrust to us. We also want them to know that what Bloomberg is reporting about Apple is inaccurate.
Apple has always believed in being transparent about the ways we handle and protect data. If there were ever such an event as Bloomberg News has claimed, we would be forthcoming about it and we would work closely with law enforcement. Apple engineers conduct regular and rigorous security screenings to ensure that our systems are safe. We know that security is an endless race and that’s why we constantly fortify our systems against increasingly sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals who want to steal our data.

16 thoughts on “Apple and DHS deny China chip hacking of servers”

  1. why Bloomberg could find the spy chips only in the US brand products. Probably, US govt. could only order US companies Apple, SuperMicro to plant the chips in. Apple and SuperMicro denied the fact at no risk, with protection of DHS laws.

  2. why Bloomberg could find the spy chips only in the US brand products. Probably US govt. could only order US companies Apple SuperMicro to plant the chips in. Apple and SuperMicro denied the fact at no risk with protection of DHS laws.

  3. I do not think they have a lot to lose People will simly forget about all the story after two or three weeks it has been published

  4. I do not think they have a lot to lose People will simly forget about all the story after two or three weeks it has been published

  5. Well, this makes it interesting…. Bloomberg is nothing like the Enquirer or Breitbart news, they have a lot to lose if they’ve totally faked something, yet Apple is pretty adamant in their denial. It’d be different if they and homeland security just said “no comment”, but this specifically addresses the points in the Bloomberg article.

  6. Well this makes it interesting….Bloomberg is nothing like the Enquirer or Breitbart news they have a lot to lose if they’ve totally faked something yet Apple is pretty adamant in their denial. It’d be different if they and homeland security just said o comment”””” but this specifically addresses the points in the Bloomberg article.”””

  7. why Bloomberg could find the spy chips only in the US brand products. Probably, US govt. could only order US companies Apple, SuperMicro to plant the chips in. Apple and SuperMicro denied the fact at no risk, with protection of DHS laws.

  8. Yeah. Because the Deep State hacks that run DHS don’t want the Anti-American globalist supply chain disrupted. Those hacks have retirement plans involving cushy jobs with the relevant corporations, after all.

  9. Yeah. Because the Deep State hacks that run DHS don’t want the Anti-American globalist supply chain disrupted. Those hacks have retirement plans involving cushy jobs with the relevant corporations after all.

  11. Well, this makes it interesting….

    Bloomberg is nothing like the Enquirer or Breitbart news, they have a lot to lose if they’ve totally faked something, yet Apple is pretty adamant in their denial. It’d be different if they and homeland security just said “no comment”, but this specifically addresses the points in the Bloomberg article.

  12. Yeah. Because the Deep State hacks that run DHS don’t want the Anti-American globalist supply chain disrupted. Those hacks have retirement plans involving cushy jobs with the relevant corporations, after all.

  13. why Bloomberg could find the spy chips only in the US brand products. Probably, US govt. could only order US companies Apple, SuperMicro to plant the chips in. Apple and SuperMicro denied the fact at no risk, with protection of DHS laws.

  14. why Bloomberg could find the spy chips only in the US brand products. Probably US govt. could only order US companies Apple SuperMicro to plant the chips in. Apple and SuperMicro denied the fact at no risk with protection of DHS laws.

  15. I do not think they have a lot to lose People will simly forget about all the story after two or three weeks it has been published

  16. I do not think they have a lot to lose People will simly forget about all the story after two or three weeks it has been published

Comments are closed.