Nvidia has developed location verification technology that could provide information about the country in which its chips are operating. According to people familiar with the matter, this approach is intended to help prevent the unauthorized diversion of high-performance chips to countries where their export is prohibited. The feature was presented to selected partners in recent months but has not yet been released and is expected to be offered as an optional software update that customers can install themselves.
The technology uses the confidential computing capabilities of the graphics processors to analyze performance-monitoring data. At the center is a method that is meant to provide indications of a chip’s location based on the time delays in communication with servers operated by Nvidia. According to the company, these measurements are on par with other internet-based location services used for similar purposes. The company stated that a new software service is being developed to enable data center operators to comprehensively monitor the integrity, performance, and inventory of entire GPU fleets. Telemetry from the processors is used for this purpose.
Initially, the feature is to be available on the current Blackwell chips, which have enhanced security mechanisms for attestation processes. Nvidia is also reviewing options to provide similar capabilities for the previous Hopper and Ampere generations. The location feature could meet requirements from the U.S. government, which has increasingly called on companies to implement measures preventing the unauthorized export of AI hardware. Pressure has increased as law enforcement authorities have indicted suspected smuggling rings with ties to China that allegedly attempted to bring chips worth more than 160 million dollars into the country.
At the same time, these demands have prompted a reaction from China’s cybersecurity regulator, which has asked Nvidia to clarify whether its products contain potential backdoors. The issue gained further attention after the U.S. president announced that exports of certain H200 chips to China would be permitted. Experts have expressed doubts about whether they would actually be used there. Nvidia has strongly denied the existence of backdoors. Software specialists emphasized that location verification is fundamentally possible without compromising the chips’ security architecture.
