TECHNOLOGY

Apple, Amazon dispute Bloomberg Chinese hacking report

Nicole Cobler
ncobler@statesman.com
Customers wait in line outside of the Apple Store at the Garden State Plaza on the day the new iPhone XS was released, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, in Paramus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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Bloomberg report: Chinese spy chips found in hardware used by Apple, Amazon

Tech companies disputed a Bloomberg Businessweek report Thursday that found data center equipment run by Amazon Web Services and Apple may have been subject to surveillance from the Chinese government through a tiny microchip.

The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 U.S. companies, according to the Bloomberg report, which included interviews with government and corporate sources.

Sources told Bloomberg that the microchips, which have been the subject of a top secret U.S. investigation since 2015, allowed attackers to create a stealth doorway into any network that included the altered machines.

The probe remains open more than three years later, Bloomberg reported.

Amazon, Apple, Supermicro and the Chinese government released statements Thursday disputing the report. Read them here.

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