Apple and Amazon deny reports of Chinese hardware hack

US tech giants such as Apple and Amazon have denied reports of a Chinese hack on their hardware systems, after a Bloomberg investigation claimed malicious computer chips were placed inside equipment by foreign agents.

Bloomberg cited 17 anonymous sources across US intelligence agencies and company insiders, who stipulated Chinese intelligence officials had infiltrated around 30 US businesses to hack their way into internal company networks.

In statements published by Bloomberg, Amazon said the report was untrue, and had "found no evidence to support claims of malicious chips or hardware modifications".

Apple's statement detailed a number of internal investigations based on Bloomberg enquiries, after which "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," it added. "Apple never had any contact with the FBI or any other agency about such an incident. We are not aware of any investigation by the FBI, nor are our contacts in law enforcement."

Read more: Facebook hack: 50m accounts affected by data breach

The investigation by Bloomberg alleged staff at a computer chip firm called Supermicro were compromised by an infiltration effort from the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which sought to gain access to commercial secrets and government networks.

Supermicro and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denied the reports, the latter of which highlighted a pledge China had undertaken at the United Nations in 2011 which would prevent it from hacking technology and products in supply chain networks.

While Apple did not respond to requests for comment, an Amazon spokesperson said: "As we shared with Bloomberg BusinessWeek multiple times over the last couple months, at no time, past or present, have we ever found any issues relating to modified hardware or malicious chips in Supermicro motherboards in any Elemental or Amazon systems.‎"

Former Tory minister Nick Boles weighed in on the reports to question whether the UK would continue to allow Chinese involvement in building its infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/1047805829582409728