Apple, Amazon deny reports of a massive Chinese hardware attack

If you’re two of the world’s most popular and profitable companies — or, say, the United States government — a major intelligence attack by a foreign power is news worth denying, vehemently.

On Thursday, Bloomberg Businessweek published a highly-sourced cover story detailing a stunning attack by the Chinese government capable of infiltrating companies including Apple and Amazon, as well as US intelligence agencies, the mormon church, and the porn industry.

According to the report, Chinese spies placed microchips the size of a sharpened pencil tip in the Chinese-manufactured servers of one of the most prolific server-providers in the world, Supermicro. The disguised microchips allowed the government to “alter the operating system’s core so it could accept modifications,” and “contact computers controlled by the attackers in search of further instructions and code.” Essentially, the microchips provided Chinese spies a secret passageway into the networks of almost 30 companies.

Bloomberg Businessweek says it received confirmation of the attack from 17 people including government intelligence officials, and employees of Amazon and Apple. 

But Supermicro, Amazon, and Apple are roundly denying the report. Bloomberg has published the full statements of the three companies in which all companies claim no knowledge of or involvement in any government investigation.

“Over the course of the past year, Bloomberg has contacted us multiple times with claims, sometimes vague and sometimes elaborate, of an alleged security incident at Apple,” the Apple statement reads. 

“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.”

Amazon and Supermicro provide similar statements. 

If Bloomberg’s report is accurate, the attack would be devastating for the United States and the companies involved; it means that China has built a window into the very guts of United States government and business. So for the sake of national and consumer security, let’s hope that Bloomberg is somehow mistaken. 

But with corroboration from 17 independent sources stacked up against the interests of the world’s two most valuable companies, the odds are not looking good.