Super Micro Computer—Bloomberg reported Chinese spy chips on Supermicro motherboards in 'The Big Hack'; no evidence ever confirmed
On October 4, 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published 'The Big Hack' alleging Chinese intelligence operatives planted tiny surveillance chips on Supermicro server motherboards used by Apple, Amazon, and US government agencies. Apple, Amazon, the NSA, and DHS all publicly denied the claims. No physical evidence of the chips was ever presented. Supermicro's share price cratered following the report. A February 2021 Bloomberg follow-up still provided no physical proof. The incident remains one of the most controversial unverified claims in tech hardware history.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply Chain Ethics | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.104 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.52)× agency (incidental ×0.1)
Evidence (1 signal)
Bloomberg 'The Big Hack' alleged Chinese spy chips on Supermicro motherboards; no evidence ever confirmed
Bloomberg Businessweek's October 2018 cover story 'The Big Hack' claimed Chinese intelligence planted surveillance chips on Supermicro server motherboards. Apple, Amazon, NSA, and DHS all denied the claims. No physical evidence was ever presented. A February 2021 Bloomberg follow-up article still offered no proof.