This is both awesome and terrifying. I'll never forget this research(https://www.wired.com/2016/06/demonically-clever-backdoor-hi...) which showed how an attacker can insert a backdoor into a chip during the manufacturing process in a way that is practically impossible to catch. That makes me very concerned about using a chip completely manufactured in China.
But at the same time, RISC-V needs to happen. It's a critical step to move computing forward. It's just a damn shame that this is the way it's going to happen. Hopefully this will push RISC-V manufacturing efforts in the US before the market becomes flooded with cheap open source and most likely backdoored chips manufactured in China.
But at the same time, RISC-V needs to happen. It's a critical step to move computing forward. It's just a damn shame that this is the way it's going to happen. Hopefully this will push RISC-V manufacturing efforts in the US before the market becomes flooded with cheap open source and most likely backdoored chips manufactured in China.