Washington [US], August 14: US officials are said to have secretly installed tracking devices in some shipments of advanced AI (artificial intelligence) chips that Washington believes are at high risk of being smuggled to China.
Reuters on August 14 quoted two sources familiar with the matter as revealing a previously undisclosed law enforcement tactic being implemented by US authorities : This is a measure to track shipments of exported AI chips to detect cases of diversion to destinations subject to US export restrictions.
The tracking devices are also only used on certain shipments under investigation, according to the sources. Using the tracking devices, US officials can gather evidence and prosecute individuals and companies that profit from export control violations.
Observers said the move showed Washington's determination to tighten controls on chip exports to China and was implemented while the Trump administration considered easing some restrictions on exports of these items to the East Asian country.
Bug tracking has been an investigative tool for decades. It has been used by US law enforcement agencies to track export-controlled goods such as aircraft parts.
Another source said the tool has been used to prevent the illegal smuggling of semiconductor chips in recent years.
Reuters cited five sources in the AI server supply chain who revealed that the positioning device was used in server shipments from companies such as Dell and Super Micro. These shipments were integrated with chips from Nvidia and AMD.
According to sources, tracking devices are often installed in the packaging of server shipments. However, it is unclear who installed the devices or at what stage of the shipping journey they were done.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper