just brew it! wrote:@JohnC - Just because there's a graft angle doesn't mean it isn't *also* being pitched internally to appeal to those paranoid about foreign spying. Whether it really makes them more secure or not is irrelevant; why should they be any more immune to the "security theater" effect than we are?
Yeah, that angle may apply for Russia, but I would doubt it for the Chinese.
The problem with reverse-engineering and designing their own chips is they can only copy what exists. Slicing and x-raying a processor is well and fine, but it won't help an iota about the processor microcode or fabrication technology. Intel's fabrication tech is the most advanced out there, but what would Russia do? Is T-platforms going to hire TSMC to create their in-house chips? That would defeat the whole security purpose. Does Russia even have plants using efficient 300mm tech on a relatively recent generation process node?
China at least has the infrastructure in place, in-country manufacturing for high-tech chips, and the revenue to fund the production. I'm not sure where T-Platforms plans to source any chips that it does design, because if they use the open market that just defeats the point.