Retired Army Colonel Urges U.S. to Close RISC-V 'Backdoor' Used by China

A retired U.S. Army Colonel is calling on federal lawmakers to close a critical national security gap that allows China to bypass semiconductor export controls. Mike McCalister has urged Congressman Brian Mast, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to address the strategic vulnerability posed by the open-source nature of RISC-V chip architecture.

McCalister argues that the open-source framework of RISC-V provides a pathway for China to reduce its dependence on Western technology and circumvent U.S. sanctions. This concern is underscored by a 2024 Reuters analysis, which revealed that dozens of Chinese state institutions—including several already under U.S. sanctions—invested at least $50 million into RISC-V projects between 2018 and 2023.

The Open-Source Advantage

RISC-V is a chip architecture originally created at UC Berkeley. Unlike proprietary architectures that require expensive and restrictive licensing fees, RISC-V is open-source, meaning designers can build semiconductors without relying on proprietary American intellectual property.

While this openness fosters global innovation, it also aligns with Beijing's military-civil fusion strategy. By leveraging an open instruction set architecture (ISA), Chinese firms can develop advanced hardware independently, effectively neutralizing the impact of U.S. restrictions on proprietary technology.

National Security Implications

For years, the U.S. has utilized strict export controls as its primary lever of influence to maintain a technological edge over China, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence and military hardware. However, the ability of Chinese entities to utilize RISC-V threatens to render these controls obsolete.

Rep. Brian Mast has highlighted the risk of such vulnerabilities, stating that "Chinese companies will exploit every backdoor to compromise America’s technology and infrastructure." If China successfully leverages RISC-V to build a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem, the U.S. loses its most effective tool for limiting the growth of China's AI and military capabilities.

The Path Forward

McCalister is pushing for updated policies to ensure that open-source innovation is not exploited as a strategic backdoor by adversaries. The goal is to refine export controls to account for the unique nature of open-source architectures, ensuring that national security is not compromised by the very transparency that drives academic and commercial progress.

Whether the U.S. government can effectively regulate an open-source standard without stifling global innovation remains a central point of debate. For now, the focus remains on whether the House Foreign Affairs Committee will move to implement the policy shifts McCalister suggests to secure the AI arms race.