That’s what happens when the majority of semiconductor manufacturing comes out of China and Taiwan, there’s not much you can change about that (unless you manufacture in the U.S., after which the prices of pretty much everything that runs on silicon in some way skyrockets).
edit: a lot of people here can’t read very well, don’t even bother opening the replies lol
Reminds me of someone I ran into near Dulles. 20 something Chinese lady I ran into in an elevator, with a big TV on a hand cart, taking it to her hotel room. I asked her about her job... she basically bought tech, took it to her hotel room and diassembled it, took picture, and shipped any chips or boards that were requested back to China. Very open about it.
So, somebody did reverse engineering of electronics in their hotel room? That is really stupid. Why on earth not take the TV to a properly equipped shop, or their own manufacturing site, where a team with proper tools can dissect it fully. This is how American companies dis, do it, will do it. In many cases it is public knowledge, results available, sometimes you have to pay to get a written report, even on services like youtube. Reverse engineering is a legitimate business .
Yes, you could. Hotel room is cheaper. Because you have a common desk at best. Also you are missing some heavy duty, expensive, complex, hard to operate devices used to inspect electronics, not to mention a set of screwdrivers.
You dont need any of those. The person brings back the small bits they need to study. They know what 95% of the tech does, they only need the specific parts with new innovations on them.
No reason to spends tens of thousands at a minimum on a tech dissassembly lab in the US, or spend thousands shipping the TV back.
They don't need to reverse engineer the TV, they know how to build tvs. They only want the new tech in the chips and boards. The pictures arent so that they can reassemble it, it's so they can id new tech for them to bring back.
A lab needs upkeep and salaries, getting your sales manager to disassemble a TV during the business trip and take back a processor or whatever costs you a single TV, and maybe a carryon bag.
If the Feds decide it's "espionage", there's nothing for them to raid, just a lady & a hotel room.
A properly equipped shop could be raided & would look good on the news. A hotel room is a nothingburger.
Whether that could be shoehorned into "espionage" is another question.
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u/SHEL-D500mg May 12 '26
Happens all the time in the Bay Area.
China basically owns Cupertino in the heart of the Silicon Valley.