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Silicon Squabble: China's Cyber Spies, Grid Hacks & AI Chips in Uncle Sam's Backyard
This is your Silicon Siege: China's Tech Offensive podcast.
So, picture this: it’s been two weeks of digital trench warfare, and the battlefield is Silicon Valley. I’m Ting, and if you think China’s tech offensive is just about tariffs and trade wars, buckle up, because the real action is in the code, the cables, and the quiet compromises that could blackout a grid or clone an AI model before you finish your coffee.
Let’s start with Salt Typhoon, the Chinese cyber-espionage group that’s been quietly gutting US telecoms. In late 2024, they compromised at least nine US telecom companies, stealing unencrypted calls and texts between presidential candidates, key staffers, and China experts in DC. That’s not just espionage, that’s a live feed into the American political nervous system. And the kicker? The Trump administration is reportedly pausing sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security over these intrusions, worried it might mess up the October trade deal. FCC even rolled back Salt Typhoon-inspired cyber rules for telcos, which is like taking the locks off after the burglar’s already inside.
But it’s not just about spying. It’s about control. Strider Technologies just dropped a bombshell: at least 85 percent of US utilities surveyed use inverters tied to Chinese government or military-linked companies like Sungrow and Huawei. These inverters, the little boxes that turn solar power into grid-ready juice, are now seen as potential backdoors. Reuters found rogue communication devices in some Chinese-made solar inverters that could bypass firewalls and trigger widespread blackouts. An unnamed source told them it’s effectively a built-in way to physically destroy the grid. And Strider’s report adds that PRC organizations like the National University of Defense Technology are actively researching US grid vulnerabilities, running attack simulations on the western US power grid.
Then there’s the AI chip war. Trump just greenlit Nvidia to sell its H200 “Hopper” chips to approved Chinese customers, with the US skimming 25 percent of the revenue. On one hand, the White House thinks this keeps Chinese firms hooked on the American tech stack, slowing their own chip development. On the other, critics like Gregory Allen from CSIS warn this could fuel new competition from Alibaba and others, using US chips to build cheaper global AI data centers. And let’s be real: DeepSeek is already rumored to be building a massive cluster with Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips, smuggled in under the radar. Meanwhile, DOJ’s Operation Gatekeeper is arresting people for helping China access banned chips, showing just how porous the export controls really are.
The strategic implication? China isn’t just stealing IP; it’s embedding itself in the supply chain, from inverters to AI chips, creating leverage points that can be exploited in a crisis. The risk isn’t just data loss—it’s grid collapse, AI dominance shifts, and a world where the infrastructure we rely on has a backdoor labeled “Made in PRC.”
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
So, picture this: it’s been two weeks of digital trench warfare, and the battlefield is Silicon Valley. I’m Ting, and if you think China’s tech offensive is just about tariffs and trade wars, buckle up, because the real action is in the code, the cables, and the quiet compromises that could blackout a grid or clone an AI model before you finish your coffee.
Let’s start with Salt Typhoon, the Chinese cyber-espionage group that’s been quietly gutting US telecoms. In late 2024, they compromised at least nine US telecom companies, stealing unencrypted calls and texts between presidential candidates, key staffers, and China experts in DC. That’s not just espionage, that’s a live feed into the American political nervous system. And the kicker? The Trump administration is reportedly pausing sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security over these intrusions, worried it might mess up the October trade deal. FCC even rolled back Salt Typhoon-inspired cyber rules for telcos, which is like taking the locks off after the burglar’s already inside.
But it’s not just about spying. It’s about control. Strider Technologies just dropped a bombshell: at least 85 percent of US utilities surveyed use inverters tied to Chinese government or military-linked companies like Sungrow and Huawei. These inverters, the little boxes that turn solar power into grid-ready juice, are now seen as potential backdoors. Reuters found rogue communication devices in some Chinese-made solar inverters that could bypass firewalls and trigger widespread blackouts. An unnamed source told them it’s effectively a built-in way to physically destroy the grid. And Strider’s report adds that PRC organizations like the National University of Defense Technology are actively researching US grid vulnerabilities, running attack simulations on the western US power grid.
Then there’s the AI chip war. Trump just greenlit Nvidia to sell its H200 “Hopper” chips to approved Chinese customers, with the US skimming 25 percent of the revenue. On one hand, the White House thinks this keeps Chinese firms hooked on the American tech stack, slowing their own chip development. On the other, critics like Gregory Allen from CSIS warn this could fuel new competition from Alibaba and others, using US chips to build cheaper global AI data centers. And let’s be real: DeepSeek is already rumored to be building a massive cluster with Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips, smuggled in under the radar. Meanwhile, DOJ’s Operation Gatekeeper is arresting people for helping China access banned chips, showing just how porous the export controls really are.
The strategic implication? China isn’t just stealing IP; it’s embedding itself in the supply chain, from inverters to AI chips, creating leverage points that can be exploited in a crisis. The risk isn’t just data loss—it’s grid collapse, AI dominance shifts, and a world where the infrastructure we rely on has a backdoor labeled “Made in PRC.”
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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By Inception Point AiThis is your Silicon Siege: China's Tech Offensive podcast.
So, picture this: it’s been two weeks of digital trench warfare, and the battlefield is Silicon Valley. I’m Ting, and if you think China’s tech offensive is just about tariffs and trade wars, buckle up, because the real action is in the code, the cables, and the quiet compromises that could blackout a grid or clone an AI model before you finish your coffee.
Let’s start with Salt Typhoon, the Chinese cyber-espionage group that’s been quietly gutting US telecoms. In late 2024, they compromised at least nine US telecom companies, stealing unencrypted calls and texts between presidential candidates, key staffers, and China experts in DC. That’s not just espionage, that’s a live feed into the American political nervous system. And the kicker? The Trump administration is reportedly pausing sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security over these intrusions, worried it might mess up the October trade deal. FCC even rolled back Salt Typhoon-inspired cyber rules for telcos, which is like taking the locks off after the burglar’s already inside.
But it’s not just about spying. It’s about control. Strider Technologies just dropped a bombshell: at least 85 percent of US utilities surveyed use inverters tied to Chinese government or military-linked companies like Sungrow and Huawei. These inverters, the little boxes that turn solar power into grid-ready juice, are now seen as potential backdoors. Reuters found rogue communication devices in some Chinese-made solar inverters that could bypass firewalls and trigger widespread blackouts. An unnamed source told them it’s effectively a built-in way to physically destroy the grid. And Strider’s report adds that PRC organizations like the National University of Defense Technology are actively researching US grid vulnerabilities, running attack simulations on the western US power grid.
Then there’s the AI chip war. Trump just greenlit Nvidia to sell its H200 “Hopper” chips to approved Chinese customers, with the US skimming 25 percent of the revenue. On one hand, the White House thinks this keeps Chinese firms hooked on the American tech stack, slowing their own chip development. On the other, critics like Gregory Allen from CSIS warn this could fuel new competition from Alibaba and others, using US chips to build cheaper global AI data centers. And let’s be real: DeepSeek is already rumored to be building a massive cluster with Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips, smuggled in under the radar. Meanwhile, DOJ’s Operation Gatekeeper is arresting people for helping China access banned chips, showing just how porous the export controls really are.
The strategic implication? China isn’t just stealing IP; it’s embedding itself in the supply chain, from inverters to AI chips, creating leverage points that can be exploited in a crisis. The risk isn’t just data loss—it’s grid collapse, AI dominance shifts, and a world where the infrastructure we rely on has a backdoor labeled “Made in PRC.”
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
So, picture this: it’s been two weeks of digital trench warfare, and the battlefield is Silicon Valley. I’m Ting, and if you think China’s tech offensive is just about tariffs and trade wars, buckle up, because the real action is in the code, the cables, and the quiet compromises that could blackout a grid or clone an AI model before you finish your coffee.
Let’s start with Salt Typhoon, the Chinese cyber-espionage group that’s been quietly gutting US telecoms. In late 2024, they compromised at least nine US telecom companies, stealing unencrypted calls and texts between presidential candidates, key staffers, and China experts in DC. That’s not just espionage, that’s a live feed into the American political nervous system. And the kicker? The Trump administration is reportedly pausing sanctions on China’s Ministry of State Security over these intrusions, worried it might mess up the October trade deal. FCC even rolled back Salt Typhoon-inspired cyber rules for telcos, which is like taking the locks off after the burglar’s already inside.
But it’s not just about spying. It’s about control. Strider Technologies just dropped a bombshell: at least 85 percent of US utilities surveyed use inverters tied to Chinese government or military-linked companies like Sungrow and Huawei. These inverters, the little boxes that turn solar power into grid-ready juice, are now seen as potential backdoors. Reuters found rogue communication devices in some Chinese-made solar inverters that could bypass firewalls and trigger widespread blackouts. An unnamed source told them it’s effectively a built-in way to physically destroy the grid. And Strider’s report adds that PRC organizations like the National University of Defense Technology are actively researching US grid vulnerabilities, running attack simulations on the western US power grid.
Then there’s the AI chip war. Trump just greenlit Nvidia to sell its H200 “Hopper” chips to approved Chinese customers, with the US skimming 25 percent of the revenue. On one hand, the White House thinks this keeps Chinese firms hooked on the American tech stack, slowing their own chip development. On the other, critics like Gregory Allen from CSIS warn this could fuel new competition from Alibaba and others, using US chips to build cheaper global AI data centers. And let’s be real: DeepSeek is already rumored to be building a massive cluster with Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips, smuggled in under the radar. Meanwhile, DOJ’s Operation Gatekeeper is arresting people for helping China access banned chips, showing just how porous the export controls really are.
The strategic implication? China isn’t just stealing IP; it’s embedding itself in the supply chain, from inverters to AI chips, creating leverage points that can be exploited in a crisis. The risk isn’t just data loss—it’s grid collapse, AI dominance shifts, and a world where the infrastructure we rely on has a backdoor labeled “Made in PRC.”
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI